An Arena of Stone: Untold Stories of the 49th HG
by Hutsune
Summary: This is the story of the 24 tributes chosen to compete in the 49th annual Hunger Games. Their stories have remained untold until now, so I suggest you read to uphold the legacy of the dead and share their tale of friendship, bravery and love. Full summery inside. Please see my profile for details on sponsorship
1. Full Summary

**An Arena of Stone: The untold stories of the 49th Hunger Games**

This is the story of the tributes of the 49th annual Hunger Games, a story that, until now, has remained untold. Follow the different stories of the 24 tributes forced into this arena of death and learn how 23 of them died and how one managed to survive long enough to be crowned victor. Learn about their lives, their struggles and their utmost will to survive. Maybe you'll take a liking to Capri, the quite, but witty, 17-year-old from District 7 who knows how to take care of herself. Or maybe Seni's more your style, the notorious playboy from District 1, hell bent on winning the Games. Maybe you'll be rooting for Evelyn who, against all odds, got reaped along with her childhood crush, Zach. Maybe you're captivated by Maddie's tragic past and are wondering just how this small 12-year-old is planning on getting her revenge on the family of her mother's killer. Maybe you want to know Lance's story, the story of an intelligent boy from District 4 who just wished that he could have found love before being sent to his death, or maybe you'd rather learn about his district partner Naomi, the girl who pretends to be a brainless blond but is actually a vicious killer. I'm sure Killian's story could amuse you, after all, the 13-year-old just wants a bit of fun, or maybe you'd rather have a more serious story, like Lara's, about a District 11 girl who will do anything to show the Capitol that she's not just a part of their games. Lexi is an interesting character to learn about; a tough street-fighter from District 6 who wants to lead a pack of tributes against the Careers, but maybe you'll rather want to support her district partner Vitz, the 18-year-old desperate to get home to his girlfriend and their unborn child. Lee's sexuality might fool you at first, but this District 9 boy is a force to be reckoned with, but if he's too fun loving for your taste, District 10's serious Braxton could be right up your street. Maybe 13-year-old Angela will be in your thoughts because I'm sure that you'll want to see her get home to the perfect family she nearly had. Seam born Vee could grab your attention or maybe your heart will go out to Shay, a sweet little girl completely terrified of the prospect of the Games. Or maybe it's Sierra you're hoping will win, the sadistic volunteer from District 2 who will do whatever it takes to become Victor. Even if it means killing her own brother.


	2. Chapter 1: Capri's reaping

**Capri Arello, District 7**

"Capri! Move!"

The shout was barely enough warning. I had just enough time to leap aside before I heard the tell-tale noise of a thrown axe behind my left ear. I hit the ground hard, almost at the same time the axe embedded itself in the tree behind my head. My eyes narrowed as I heard the axe make contact with the bark. I knew exactly where it had come from.

"Harrison, you moron!" I shouted, fuming from my spot on the ground. "You could have killed me!"

Harrison rolled his hazel eyes. "It's your fault," he shrugged. "I didn't expect you to be so slow."

I glared at him. "Not everyone's as fast as you, you know!"

There was laughter behind us and a female voice said, "Except for me. I'm faster, of course."

I looked over at the owner of the voice. The girl, Jennie Crawford, was the mirror image of her brother Harrison, sharing the same sandy coloured hair and the same hazel eyes. The only obvious difference between them was that she was a girl. Other then that, they were pretty much identical.

Harrison snorted. "Oh please, I'd beat you in a race any day and you know it!" He moved over to me, grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feel. "Even Capri knows I can beat you," he continued, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "Right, Pri?"

I ducked out from under his arm and went to stand next to Jennie.

"I don't know," I said slowly, looking him up and down with raised eyebrows. "You certainly don't look as fit as Jen."

That was a lie. Both twins were the height of physical perfection. I bet half of District 7 was secretly hoping that one of them would get reaped for the Hunger Games. Maybe then we would finally have another victor.

Jennie grinned as she linked her arm through mine.

"See?" she teased. "Capri agrees with me."

Harrison glared at the both of us.

"I guess we'll have to test it then," he said, slowly backing away from us and turning around. "First one to the pond wins. Three, two, one, go!"

Without looking back, he shot off into the forest, his bare feet kicking up dead leaves as he ran.

"Cheater!" screamed Jennie, pushing me aside and sprinting after him. "I wasn't ready! Come back here so we can do it over!"

I smiled and shook my head. Yeah, like Harrison would agree to a do-over.

I walked over the tree with the axe and wrenched it out. Flicking my blond hair out of my eyes, I spun around, sending the axe spinning towards a nearby tree. I smiled with satisfaction as I heard the thunk of the axe making contact. I'd hit my mark.

I heard applause behind me and I turned to see my friend, Tylla, standing there, a wide grin spread across her pretty face.

"Oh, hey Ty," I said with a smile. "I've been wondering where you've been all day! I though we agreed to meet here after breakfast?"

Ty grimaced and looked away. "Mom said I had to stay home and help Rose get ready for the reaping. She turned twelve last month and now, according to the Capitol, is old enough to be sent to her death."

I knew Rose well. She was a tiny child, with large brown eyes and a smile that could melt even the heart of a Peacekeeper. She wouldn't last a minute in the Arena.

Ty sat down on a log, her head in her hands. I sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. I knew this was hard on her. She'd already lost an older brother to the games. Seath was only thirteen when his name was drawn. He didn't last very long.

"Her name's only in there once," I said softly. "Don't worry; Rose is going to be fine."

Ty sniffed. "I just wish we knew that for certain." She looked up. "This whole thing is sick, taking kids and making them fight to the death for their own amusement. Sick!"

I sighed. "Yeah, I know it is." I stood up. "But we really shouldn't be saying things like that, especially today. We should probably head back and get ready for the reaping."

Ty nodded sadly and looked around.

"Where's Jennie and Harrison?" she asked, frowning. "I thought they'd be there."

I rolled my eyes. "They decided to have a race to the pond. They got into another argument over who was faster."

Ty laughed her initial worry about the reaping evaporating.

"I'm pretty sure they had the game argument last week."

"And the week before that and the week before that..."

We both collapsed into a fit of giggles.

"Come on," I said, reaching for Ty's hand. "We should get going. Wouldn't want to be late for the big day."

Ty and I walked with linked arms to the Town Square. Despite my nervousness for the reaping, I couldn't help noticing that it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly in the clear sky, its rays reaching out to us and tickling our skin. I shrugged off the blue cardigan I was wearing and tied it around my waist. I wouldn't be needing it today.

I felt someone flick the back of my head and a familiar figure ran past.

"Don't get picked today, little sister!" my brother, Axel called over his shoulder. "May the odds be ever in your favour!"

"Stop showing off!" I shouted after him, trying my best to suppress a smile. "You've only just turned nineteen! Stop thinking you're so cool!"

Axel grinned and jogged off to join my parents, who were standing in the crowd and looking very worried. I sighed. At least now they only have two children available for reaping.

"I'm going to find Rose," said Ty, unhooking her arm from mine, "I'll see you later."

She ran off towards where the line of very unhappy looking twelve-year-olds were standing.

_I should probably go find Mabel,_I thought, looking around for my sister. _She's probably freaking out right now._

I spotted her quickly, standing and laughing with a bunch of other thirteen-year-old girls. I smiled as I watched her blond curls shake with laughter. I've always wished that I was as confident as her. She's always been really great at meeting new people and has more friends then I count on both my hands, and probably my feet too! I've never really been good at befriending new people. Believe it or not, I'm actually pretty quiet around anyone who isn't my family or one of my four close friends. Speaking of my four close friends, there's one I hadn't seen today.

Not wanting to disturb Mabel, I made my way towards the line of sixteen-year-old boys. Shon would probably be there already. He's always early for everything.

And sure enough, there he was, standing in the line and chatting to a boy I didn't know. He spotted me looking and waved. I smiled and waved back. I was about to go over to him, when I heard a loud, clear voice coming from the microphone on stage.

"Happy Hunger Games everyone! May the odds be _ever_ in your favour!"

A hush went over the crowd as the mayor began to speak and I shivered as I made my way over to the other seventeen-year-old girls. I hated how the Capitol had transformed the Hunger Games into some sort of festive event. The whole idea of it was wrong.

"What took you so long," Ty whispered as I slid into the line besides her. "You know how the Peacekeepers get when you're late."

"Saying hi to Shon," I replied, staring up at the mayor on stage and pretending to look interested. "Hadn't seen him today."

We stood in silence and watched as the mayor gave the same boring speech he did every year. I let my mind wander as he started talking about the Dark Days, thinking about my plans for after the reaping. It was such a nice day. Maybe we would all go down to the pond for a swim. I could be a good day to finally teach Mabel to swim. Just the thought of it made me want to laugh.

The sound of clapping broke me from my thoughts and I jolted to attention. The District 7 escort, Shimmer Pallone, had just walked out onto the stage. I had to bite my lip to keep myself from laughing. Despite her ridiculous name, Shimmer also had the most ridiculous fashion sense. Today she was wearing this tight, bubblegum-pink jumpsuit-like thing, paired with large, dangly earrings with a golden letter "H" on them. If that wasn't bad enough, she'd also gone and dyed her hair a sky-blue and styled it so that it was dead straight and short, the ends hanging just above her skinny shoulders. God I hated Capitol fashion.

"Happy Hunger Games everyone," she said, her high-pitched voice mirroring the mayor's opening statement, "and may the odds be _ever _in your favour."

Her bright blue eyes scanned the crowd as if waiting for some sort of reaction. When she got none, she continued.

"I am _so_ excited for this year's Games," she gushed, her golden earrings swinging from side to side as she moved. "The Gamemakers have promised us a real treat this year! A 'look into the past' they call it." She paused and flashed a smile at the crowd. Again she got no reaction. "So, without further adieu, let's see who are tributes are for this year!" She placed her hand into the glass bowl before her, where I knew my name, as well as a thousand others, was written upon six of those tiny scraps of paper. I closed my eyes and wished with all my might that it wouldn't be Mabel or one of my friends.

"Ladies first," said Shimmer, flattering her false eyelashes at the crowd as she grasped on of the scraps of paper in her claw-like hand. "And the female tribute for District 7 is..."

It wasn't Mabel. It wasn't Ty or Jennie. It wasn't even little Rose.

It was me.

"I volunteer!"

I was in so much shock that it took me a while to identify the voice. Jennie had stepped out of her line and was waving her hand in the air, her hazel eyes wide and frantic.

They was a murmur of approval from the crowd.

_Yes, let the fit one go._

_If the strong one goes we might actually have a chance of winning._

_She's a way better tribute than the skinny girl who was picked._

"No!"

The shout came from the line of eighteen-year-old boys. Harrison had pushed his way out of line and was marching towards his sister.

"There is no way you're volunteering for the Games! I won't let you! You are not going to throw your life away like that!"

That hurt a little, but of course Harrison was going to defend his sister over me. That's what family does.

"Harry, it's Capri!" she pleaded, her eyes filling with tears. "You know I have a better chance than her. I could win this!"

I had never seen Jennie like this before, nor had I seen Harrison so angry. Even though I was completely terrified at the idea of going to the Games, I could never let someone go in my place. My mind was made up.

"No," I said sharply, lifting my eyes from Jennie to face Shimmer, whose bright eyes were wide with glee at the spectacle before her. "I'll go."

"Well come up here then," she said excitedly, beckoning be onto the stage. "Wow! This is definitely one of the most interesting reaping I've ever been to!" This was all just a game to her. An exciting way to pass the time when she wasn't shopping for another weird outfit or getting her skin dyed another funny colour.

I tried my best not to cry as I made my way towards the stage. I had to be strong for Mabel and the others. I could see Mabel out of the corner of my eye. She was crying and was being held by a friend. At least she had someone to comfort her.

Shimmer was so excited to continue the reaping. I had just made it onto the stage when she thrust her hand into the second glass bowl to pick the male tribute. The boy who would be trying to kill me once we entered the Arena. I was so numb that I didn't hear his name, but I could see a shuffling in the crowd as the boy I didn't recognise came forward. I didn't notice my friend's faces in the crowd, nor did I see my crying family. Everything was a blur to me. I vaguely remember my hand being lifted into the air as Shimmer introduced me as the female tribute of District 7 and then I was marched off into the Justice Building by the Peacekeepers, ready to await my visitors.


	3. Chapter 2: Evelyn's bad luck

**Evelyn Jenkins, District 5**

The sun was just coming over the horizon, warming the chilly air as I walked home through the grasslands surrounding District 5. I knew I wasn't supposed to be there, but as I walked, swinging my basket from side to side, everything just felt so right. So peaceful. So perfect.

That was pretty much how I started every morning. I woke up before dawn, washed my face with cold water, scraped back my long brown hair into its usual ponytail and snuck through a gap in the district's fence to gather food. It wasn't easy supporting a family of ten.

When people hear that I come from a family of ten, there are only ever two reactions. They either laugh at my parent's stupidity, because seriously, who in their right mind could think that they could have the means to support all their children, or they shake their head sadly. They probably think that most of us won't survive. They're right, of course. If it weren't for me entering the grasslands illegally everyday, half of us would be dead by now. That, and the tesserae I take out every year.

I shuddered when I realised how many times my name would be entered this year. 29 times. That's more then most of the eighteen-year-olds in the district. The odds were definitely not in my favour. I really missed having Joanna and Wesley to share the burden with, but now that they're both over the age of eighteen, it's up to me to claim the tesserae.

I couldn't help feeling a bit angry when I thought about my two older siblings. They left us to fend for ourselves the minute they finished school. Their excuse is that they have no time to visit us because of their work in the power plants and have barely enough money to feed themselves. I didn't believe that one bit. They left our struggling family the moment they could.

Ducking under the district fence, I ran towards the town as fast as I could. One would think that all this running everyday would make me fit, but my pathetic body rejects any form on physical activity and soon I was out of breath. I'm often told my slender build is perfect for running, but people should really tell my 'slender build' that.

"Mom, I'm home!" I shouted as soon as I entered the house. "And I have breakfast!"

A toddler came running into the room at that moment, his fat little legs wobbling with the pressure of supporting his chubby body. Another toddler followed. And then another, who crashed into the second sending them both to the ground. I couldn't help but smile at them. I would do anything to keep them happy, even if that meant taking out tesserae. Watching them just seemed to make it all okay.

An older boy followed the toddlers.

"Mom's out the back," said my brother, Konrad. "She told me to tell you to leave the food on the table and get ready for the reaping. It's early today."

"Alright then," I replied, ruffling his hair as I walked past. "Just watch those three, will you?"

Konrad didn't look please. "Fine," he muttered, looking away from me to the three children sitting happily on the ground. "But you owe me."

I smiled and shook my head. "You'd just better hope that I'm not reaped today," I said, jokingly, "or looking after them will become your full time job."

With that, I turned and left the room, heading towards the back of the house where my bedroom was.

"I hope you get reaped today!" Konrad shouted after me.

I ignored his lame comeback and shut the door.

"You look beautiful," sighed Carter as I entered the living room. "I can't wait until I can dress up all pretty like you."

I couldn't help thinking how lucky she was not to have that opportunity yet. I was dressed in Joanna's first reaping outfit, a simple blue sundress completed with white sandals. Surprisingly, it was still too big for me. I didn't think I was that small.

"Pretty, sissy," said Estelle, rushing over to me so I could pick her up. Out of all my siblings, Estelle is the one I'm the closest with. Just after she was born, my mother became pregnant again, this time with three babies. Estelle became my priority soon after that. I can't complain though. She's the sweetest little girl I've ever met. It was hard to kiss her goodbye as I went to go stand with the other fourteen-year-olds in Town Square for the reaping. What if that was the last time I ever saw her happy?

"How you feeling?" a voice whispered in my ear as I slid into line.

I immediately knew who the voice belonged to. There was really only one person outside my family who would care enough to ask.

I smiled at my best friend. "Hey Bina. I'm alright, I guess. How you holding up?"

Before she could answer, there was a cruel laugh behind me. I groaned inwardly. I was not in the mood to deal with Vida Heller.

Vida was one of those girls who thought the whole world revolved around her and she just loved to remind people about it. Being the mayor's daughter, she's lived a pretty comfortable life and has never needed to take out tesserae. For some reason beyond my knowledge, she's always despised me, always picking on me, always putting me down. I think she takes my shyness as a form of timidness and she's completely right. I could never stand up to someone like her.

"I'd be scared right now if I were you, Jenkins," her malicious blues eyes looking me up and down in disgust. "I heard your name is in there 29 times this year! It will be hard for them _not_to pick you."

She laughed again and strutted passed me to join the rest of her friends who were all laughing too. Well, if I was reaped today, at least I wouldn't have to deal with all their crap ever again.

Up on the stage, Vida's father had just ended his speech. There was a weak round of applause and our district escort, Hestia Ammon made her appearance. This year, like every year, she was green. Green hair, green skin, green eyes, green clothes. She was like a walking, talking garden.

"Happy Hunger Games everyone," she squeaked in her unnaturally high voice. "And may the odds be _ever_in your favour."

With my name entered 29 times today, the odds were definitely not in my favour.

"As always, ladies first!"

Her little green hand went daintily into the bowl, brushing over many pieces of paper before she finally took one. I knew who it was even before she read the name.

"Evelyn Jenkins!"

And there it was. My name.

Surprisingly, I felt quite calm as I walked towards the stage. Towards my death. I knew I had basically no chance of winning. I wasn't a great athlete, nor was I that good-looking. How would I ever get sponsors? The only thing I actually had going for me was my brain, but how far does that ever get you in the arena? Sure, some tributes get far by outsmarting the others, but they're eventually cut down by some bigger, stronger tribute.

So as I stood there on stage listening to the half-hearted claps of my district, I silently accepted the fact that I was going to die. I just hoped my family would be okay without me.

"And now for the boys."

Hestia placed her hand into the boys' bowl and drew a name.

"Zachary Swift!"

I froze. Why him? Out of all the boys in District 5, why did his name have to be drawn?

As I watched the handsome blond boy make his way to the stage, I was suddenly taken back to my first day of school.

It was pouring buckets that day, but even so I wore Joanna's first dress to school. It was a beautiful shade of red, with small yellow flowers dotted about the fabric. This was also the day Vida and her gang first decided that they didn't like me. As I was walking home, she came up behind me, pushing me hard in the small of my back and sending me sprawling into a muddy puddle. There was nothing I could really do about it. So I just sat there in the puddle, crying my little eyes out as she ran away laughing.

I was so surprised when a hand grabbed my arm that I screamed, hitting it as hard as I could with my other hand. I heard laughter as I was yanked to my feet. Not mean laughter like Vida's, but nice, pleasant laughter. The owner of the laugh was a boy I didn't know, but from that moment I knew I really wanted to know him. He sat me down on a nearby bench and picked a small blue flower that was growing in a nearby patch of grass. He gave the flower to me and told me that pretty girls such as me shouldn't cry. That I should be happy. Then his mother called him and he ran off. But not before I caught his name. Zach.

And since that day, I've had a hopeless crush on the boy who pulled me out of the mud, the boy who called me pretty and gave me that flower. On Zach. But being me, I've always been to shy to do anything about it.

So I just stood there and watched as he walked towards me, wishing that someone would speak up and volunteer to take his place. But no one did. No one wanted that death sentence upon themselves.

Zach and I shook hands, his warm brown eyes staring into mine. Oh how I've always wished those eyes would look at me! I just wasn't expecting it to be quite like this.

Neither of us spoke and when the anthem ended, we were marched off into our separate rooms in the Justice Building. Now comes the part that I was dreading. I didn't want to have to say goodbye to my family.

I sat quietly at the window seat, plaiting a strand of hair that had fallen loose across my face. My tears had finally dried up, leaving my eyes sore and stinging. I had decided I wasn't going to cry anymore, that I was going to be strong. So far it wasn't really working out for me.

Saying goodbye to my family was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Saying goodbye to Bina was even harder. She was my only friend, the only one brave enough to hang out with the shy, outcast girl who Vida had made a target of. But the goodbyes were finished now and I was left alone, waiting for the Peacekeepers to come back and escort me to the station.

The door opened and I turned, expecting to find a Peacekeeper. Instead, I found Vida Heller.

She looked as if she'd been crying, her once beautiful eyes now red and puffy.

I was so shocked to see her that I blurted out, "What are you doing here?" before I could stop myself. But seriously, what was she doing here? Was she here to tease me? Laugh at me because I got reaped? Because if she was, I didn't have the energy to put up with it.

"I'm so sorry Evelyn," she murmured, walking into the room and shutting the door behind her. "I'm so sorry." She started to cry.

I honestly didn't know how to react. This was the last thing I expected. I knew Vida. She was more likely to cut her own arm off then to apologise to me. What was going on?

And then she was upon me, her arms wound around my neck and crying into my shoulder. I patted her awkwardly on the back.

"There, there, it's alright."

Vida pulled away, whipping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"No, it's not alright," she said, a note of true sadness in her voice. "I had no right to treat you like that all these years. I was stupid, jealous of you! You come from nothing, and yet you always seem to be happy about something. Here I am, coming from this well-off family with all I could ever want, but still probably the most unhappy person alive." She sniffed. "I just wanted you to know what it was like to feel like me."

And then she was crying again, bawling into my shoulder.

I was completely taken aback. I was not expecting this from her at all. Vida's life looked perfect! I guess not everything is what it seems on the outside.

"And now I can never make it right," she said into my shoulder. "I'm so sorry. You don't deserve any of this."

This was my moment. My moment to finally get back at Vida for all the years of torture she'd put me through. But I found I didn't want to. As much as I disliked Vida, she was still only a little girl, barely more mature then Estelle. I couldn't do anything mean to her if I tried.

"I forgive you," I said, shocked that I was saying those words. "It's over now."

Vida moved away again, her blue eyes looking up at me hopefully.

"Really?"

No.

"Yes."

She smiled slightly and reached up behind her neck, unfastening her necklace.

"Will you wear this for me? In the arena?"

She pressed her necklace into my palm. It was a pretty thing, a small, silver chain with a lock and key charm on the front. I loved it immediately, even though it came from Vida.

"Sure," I said, smiling weakly as I took it. "I'll wear it." I didn't have anything else to wear anyway.

The whole time we sat there, I waited for her to spring up, to laugh at me and tell me the whole thing was a joke. Laugh at me for being so stupid to believe her act and then tell me how she hoped I'd die first. But it never came. We just sat there in silence until a Peacekeeper came to take her away again.

"I hope you win, Evelyn!" she shouted as she was being lead away. "Maybe then I can make it up to you."


	4. Chapter 3: Sierra the great

**Sierra Golding, District 2**

The bow was taught, the arrowhead pointing at a dove about forty meters away from me. Most would think it that it was an impossible shot, but not me. I knew I could hit the stupid bird. I never missed. Missing was for weaklings.

Just as I was about to let the arrow fly, a voice cut through the silence like a knife, spooking the animal and causing it to fly up into a nearby tree. Dumb thing. Didn't it realise I could just come back for it?

"Sierra, Mom says to be ready to leave in five minutes."

I rolled my eyes. I really couldn't care less about what my pathetic excuse for a mother had to say. Weaklings like her had no place in my life. They just distracted me from my true goals. Like winning The Hunger Games.

Now that's always been a dream of mine. And I knew I could do it! My victor father had trained me well and, finally, it was my year to shine, and no amount of protesting from my mother would change my mind.

"Sierra, are you even listening to me?"

I sent my arrow shooting towards the dove. I smirked as I watched it pierce its heart. Soon, my arrows would be piercing the hearts of some loser tributes stupid enough to get in my way.

"Sierra!"

I rounded on my brother.

"Yes, I heard you Nic," I snapped, my hands on my hips. "Now run along. Wouldn't want to keep Mommy waiting."

Nic glared at the sarcastic tone in my voice. "Just get dressed, would you?" he said angrily. "I have better things to do today than watch you stick arrows into birds."

With that, he turned on his heels and marched back inside the house. I smirked after him and shouldered my bow. Nic was always trying to please our mother, though I had no idea why. We don't need weak people like that in our lives. Like I said before, they just hold us back.

Nic, on the other hand, had always been strong, but, even though he's a year my senior, I like to think I'm stronger. I know I have better aim then him, Father tells me that nearly everyday. Which is why I'm the one volunteering for The Hunger Games and not him. I'm going to be the one to bring glory to our family.

"Sierra, hurry up!"

I rolled my eyes at Nic's command, but ran towards the house anyway. Not a good idea for District 2's female tribute to be late for her own reaping.

I couldn't help stopping to admire myself as I passed the mirror in the hallway. I was honestly the best looking girl out of the whole of District 2. My body was tanned and in perfect physical condition. My father made sure of that. My long blond hair was dead-straight, tied up in a high ponytail with two loose strands hanging down on each side of my flawless face, framing it perfectly. My eyes were an emerald green, rimmed with long, dark lashes which gave them a more sophisticated appearance. I know my slightly pointed nose is perfect, everyone tells me so and my mouth is so tempting that every boy in the district wants to know what it's like to kiss it. Of course, only a lucky few get that honour.

I smiled at my reflection, please with what I saw. It's hard not to be conceited when you look like me.

Up in my bedroom, I opened my cupboard and examined all the beautiful dresses that were hung up in a neat row. I smiled as I brushed a few with my hand. So much beauty to choose from. I started to frown as I looked them over. My reaping outfit had to be perfect. Like my father always said, 'Nothing is a moment too soon when looking for potential sponsors'. But, of course, I'll have sponsors lined up around the block before the Games had even started.

Eventually, I chose the short, dark green dress that Nic had given me for my sixteenth birthday a few weeks ago. As much as I hated to, I couldn't help but admire his taste. It was just the right length, short enough to attract potential sponsors, but long enough to keep aspects of my figure to the imagination. The colouring was the exact same shade of green as my eyes, which accented them and really made them shine. Plus, the dress fit me like a glove and was extremely comfortable to wear.

Once dressed, I decided to leave my hair up. It was my signature look after all.

After a painfully quite glance in the mirror, I rushed downstairs to meet my family at the front door. My father smiled at me.

"Perfect as always," he said, kissing my cheek. "District 2 is very lucky to have a tribute like you."

"Only because of your coaching, Father," I replied, beaming.

He chuckled and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Always so modest," he said, which is a complete lie. I'm about as conceited as they come.

"Sierra," said my mother, leaving Nic's side and coming to stand in front of me. "Are you sure you've thought this through properly? There will be many strong tributes in the arena. You still have time to reconsider."

Trust my mother to try to talk me out of volunteering. I just can't understand why she thinks this is a bad idea. Of course I'm going to win. Everyone in the district knows that!

Before I could answer her, my father cuts in, "Don't underestimate the girl, Yen. She knows what she's doing."

My mother didn't reply. She just looked away.

"We're going to be late," Nic said suddenly, breaking the silence. "We should get a move on."

"Right you are," said my father, enthusiastically giving my shoulder a push. "After you, sweetheart. Let's show Panem what the Golding family is made of!"

The mayor's speech couldn't have been more boring. I swear, even with all the excitement around me, I could barely keep my eyes open. Even the escort was a disappointment, not showing any new fashion trends from the Capitol. Well, I guess I'd find out soon enough what's going on there.

My hand was in the air before the stupid escort had reached into the glass bowl.

"I volunteer!"

The escort jumped in surprise, but quickly regained her composure.

"My, my," she giggled in her annoying Capitol accent, "you seem very eager. Unfortunately, we have our rules. Let's see whose name comes out of the bowl first. If she doesn't want to go to the Games, then you can take her place."

I smiled my sweetest smile. "Well, get on with it then."

The escort beamed and thrust her heavily manicured hand into the glass bowl.

"Reed Hannen."

A small thirteen-year-old raised her hand, her blue eyes widening in shock. Either she was surprised at being chosen, or too cowardly to speak in front of a crowd of people. District 2 definitely didn't need someone like her in the arena.

"S-Sierra can go i-in my p-place," she stuttered quickly, not daring to take her eyes off the stage. "Let S-Sierra go."

I expected nothing less from someone so weak.

The applause was deafening as I walked onto the stage. I politely shook hands with the major and the escort, whose name I hadn't even bothered to learn, and then turned to wave at the crowd. I couldn't be more pleased with the reaction I received. Unbelievably, the roar of the crowd got even louder when the escort introduced me as the female tribute for District 2. I couldn't have been happier. I'd been waiting my whole life for this moment.

"But we're not done yet!" said Escort excitedly. "We still have one more tribute to go!"

She slowly put her hand into the other bowl, drawing out the crowd's growing suspense until the last possible minute. She grasped a scrap of paper and began to pull it out. I just wished she would hurry up. I couldn't wait to find out the name of the boy from my district who I'd end up killing.

Escort smoothed out the paper carefully and looked down at the name. Her artificial pink eyes widened slightly in surprise and she put a hand to her matching pink lips.

"And the male tribute from District 2 is..." she paused in anticipation, smiling widely at the crowd."Nicolai Golding!"

I think that was the first time in my life that I'd even been caught off guard. It takes a lot to surprise me, but wow, that really did it. Out of all the boys in District 2, they just had to pick my brother, didn't they? I was in so much shock that I completely forgot that I was being filmed. So there I was, broadcasted in front of the whole of Panem, my mouth wide open like a surprised fish. Just great.

Luckily for me, that was when the first shout from volunteers arose and the cameras turned away from me to find the desperate boys in the crowd.

"I volunteer!"

"No, I volunteer!"

"I volunteer! Pick me if you want a real tribute!"

_Come on Nic. Let one of them go for you. Don't do this to me!_

Even though we fought every day, I still loved my brother more then anyone else, though I'd never admit it. I hated the thought of him coming into the arena with me. I didn't want him to die.

_Please Nic._

But of course, Nic rejected all the volunteers. This was expected. No one from the Golding family would ever turn down the honour of becoming a tribute. He walked sullenly through the cheering crowd, not even glancing at our weeping mother as he passed. Once on stage, he shook hands with everyone and went to stand besides me.

"What are you doing," I hissed, not meeting his eyes. "You know you're going to die, right?"

"I know," he said shortly, not looking at me either. "But at least now I can make sure you come home safely."

With that, he turned away from me and walked towards the Justice Building without being dismissed. I was about to follow, but Escort grabbed my arm and forced me to wait until the Anthem was over. Secretly, I was glad. This gave me time to gather my thoughts before I met my brother again. I wouldn't let him get to me! If he wanted to die, then I should just let him die! There's nothing I wouldn't do to make it out of the arena alive. What does it matter that Nic's there too? He could help with my plan. Sierra Golding is going to win the 49th Hunger Games.


	5. Chapter 4: Maddie's revenge

_**Madeleine Michel, District 1**_

_"Come Maddie. Let's go outside."_

_"But Mommy, I feel icky. Can't we stay inside and play with my dolls?"_

_"No honey, it's outside time. The fresh air will do us some good."_

_I followed my mother to the door, my soft feet pattering along the polished tiles of the kitchen floor. I didn't want to go outside, but I'd follow my mother to the ends of the Earth so I went anyway. I wish I didn't._

_"Mads, isn't this flower pretty," she said with a smile, kneeling on the soft grass to pluck the small flower from the ground. "Isn't the colour lovely? It's nearly the same shade as your favourite dress."_

_I just nodded and took the flower with a small smile. My mother was right about the colour. I loved it immediately, but mainly because it came from my mother. She was really the only one in the whole world I loved. My father didn't even come close._

_But then everything fell apart._

_There was a noise to my left, a faint rustling sound which sent shivers up my dainty spine. My mother heard it too, her usually composed face showing clear signs of fear, her amber eyes wide with shock._

_"Maddie," she whispered urgently, "go back inside and lock the doors. Call your father and tell him to come home right away."_

_She gave me a little push, but it wasn't enough. I wanted to know what was going on. Maybe if I ran when I did, all this wouldn't have happened._

_"But Mommy-"_

_"-Maddie, duck!"_

_She pushed me to the ground in such a forceful way that I got a face full of dirt. I struggled, coughing and spluttering, and tried to get to my feet again. I was so confused. What was going on?_

_"Run Maddie! Get inside!"_

_I didn't need to be told twice. The fear in my mother's voice propelled me forward and I ran as fast as I could towards the house. I was nearly there, nearly through the kitchen door when I heard the scream. It was a horrible scream and to this day it still chills me to the bone. My mother's last scream._

_She was laying there, the blood running from her head staining the green grass scarlet. A dark figure stood over her, a bloody knife clutched between large gloved hands, ready to finish the job he started..._

"Mommy!"

My scream woke me up as it echoed around my large room and I bolted upright, shaking. I sat there, clutching the soft blanket in my dainty fingers and started to cry. I wailed and wailed until my avox attendant came to my aid. She gently held me as I cried, wiping my tears away with a small, white cloth until I regained my composure and sent her out. I didn't need her sympathy. I needed my mother.

I was only four when my mother was brutally taken away from me, but I could still remember every detail like it was yesterday. The feel of the grass under my bare feet, the happy expression on her face as she handed me the pretty little flower, the pained, twisted scream as the knife was driven through her heart...

I felt my eyes tear up again. But I quickly wiped away the tears. I was not going to cry! I was stronger then that! Much stronger, especially now that I've started training. Started training for revenge. My mother's killer would never get away with what he did! And I'm not talking about the man with the knife. I'm talking about the one who paid him.

Silken Gold was his name. Personally, I've always thought it was a silly name, but there sure wasn't anything silly about the man behind it.

Silken Gold was the Head Peacekeeper of District 1, a very important position. He was tall, built like an ox and about half as nice, with dark hair and deep set eyes. Since we're the closest district to the Capitol, Gold had always had many important Capitol ties, even with the president himself! Because of this, most of the district was afraid of him and he held a lot of power over us. But I'm not scared. One day, I will take him down. I will have my revenge.

I used to blame myself for my mother's death. If I'd just sucked it up and gone to school that day, instead of staying home sick, maybe then she'd still be alive. But I soon realised I was wrong. It wasn't my fault. It was my father's.

My father was the victor of the 24th Hunger Games, probably the most brutal Games to date. He was seventeen when he volunteered and his good looks and vicious attitude attracted sponsor after sponsor. It was all too easy for him to win.

It turned out winning came with a price. My father tried to hide it from me, but I'm not stupid. Even my ten-year-old self could work it out.

The Capitol wanted my father to become one of their spies, one of their assassins like the one who killed my mother. Typical of the Capitol, they don't like something; they just kill to get their way. Silken was the one who proposed the idea to my father, but he declined. So an assassin was sent for my mother.

I still haven't forgiven him.

I sighed and opened my eyes, ready to face the new day. The reaping day.

Just the thought made me want to crawl back under the covers and never come out again. I'd turned twelve a few weeks ago. This would be my first reaping.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn't stay in bed. The only daughter of one of Panem's most famous victors would be expected to make an appearance. Well that and it's compulsory to attend reapings.

I cringed at the thought of my face being broadcasted to the whole country. Even if I wasn't reaped, my face would still be shown. My father is famous after all. Oh well, the least I could do was look presentable.

I hurled myself out of bed and went to go take a shower. Just as I hoped, the warm jets of perfumed water washed away the memories of my nightmare and I came out in a much better mood. I was always so thankful for these morning showers. Hardly anyone in the district even owned one! It pays to live in the Victor's Village.

Pulling on my robe, I left the sweet smelling bathroom and went back to my bedroom, where an avox girl was waiting to help me get ready. I was a bit annoyed considering I could actually dress myself, but it was such a big day I decided to accept her help. Besides, she was my favourite avox. It was a pity I didn't even know her name.

I sat down at the dressing table and stared into the mirror as the avox began to brush my long hair. Seeing my reflection hurt a little. I looked just like my mother.

Since my father was a victor, he had no trouble making a girl fall for him and he could basically choose whoever he wanted. Makes sense that he picked the prettiest girl in the district to marry. And lucky me inherited those genes.

I'd inherited her glossy, honey streaked caramel curls which tumbled loosely down to the small of my back. My amber eyes were hers too, large and clear and framed with long, dark lashed. My petite build came from her too, as well as my small, heart shaped face and swan-like neck. I resembled my mother in so many ways. Maybe that's why my father can hardly bare to look at me.

Once the avox had finished with my hair, delicately styling it into an intricately braided crown and fastened it with a beautiful golden hair net completed with tiny light pink pearls, she left me to dress in the outfit my father had picked out for me. As much as a disliked my father, I couldn't help loving the gown.

It was a beautiful thing, made out of a soft, creamed coloured material which clung to my every curve, making me look a lot older then twelve. But even so, I couldn't help hating what I saw when I looked into the full length mirror.

I knew I was beautiful, everyone always told me that, but I hated the expectations which came with it. People just assume that, just because I look a certain way, things just come easier to me and my looks were all I'd ever need in the world. When I pass people in the street, I can feel them looking me over, marking me down as some golden child who can do no wrong, when really they have no idea what it's like to be me. If only they knew what I have planned, what I've been training to do. Would I still be the golden child then?

There's honestly a whole lot more to me then just a pretty face. For instance, I love to sing, often accompanying myself on the grand piano in my house. Drawing is another passion of mine because, like music, there are no limits on what you can do. Unlike me real life which is actually quite full of limits thanks to my father.

He wants me to keep up this "perfect little girl" image and, since this is District 1 after all, this includes hours and hours a day of fitness exercises and weapon training. Since I'm so small, I'm practically useless with large weapons like axes and clubs, but I'm an ace with throwing knives and one of the best in the district with a bow and arrows. My father made sure of that.

I grimaced. Well at least if I was reaped today, I'd be prepared.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The avox girl was back, motioning silently at me to get a move on. I guessed my father had already left for the reaping so I followed her outside where she waved me off down the road.

I walked alone down the cobbled path to Town Square. It wasn't a particularly long walk, but I still wished that I had some company. Being raised in the way I was, I had no friends. I had no time for anyone with all the training I was doing, plus the other girls my age found me a little strange. This much I knew for certain. But that's understandable; considering I had to grow up a lot faster then they had to. Their mothers hadn't been murdered in front of them. I'd often heard friends of my father joke about how I was like an adult trapped in a child's body. I guess this was a little bit true. I had matured well beyond my years.

As I walked alone to the reaping, I caught bits of other people conversations as they went by. I was a good listener, often listening in on people to gather bits of information about the district. One of my annoying habits.

But today, a particular conversation caught my attention. Or rather, a particular name. Seni Gold.

Gold. I'd been drilling that name into my head for as long as I could remember. The name of my mother's killer. This boy must be related to Silken Gold. Listening in further, I discovered I was right. Seni was his eldest son.

"So Magenta told me this morning that Seni Gold is volunteering at the reaping today," gushed the prettier of the two girls before me. "I can't wait to see his gorgeous body on TV, all sweaty and covered in blood from all the tributes he'd killed. How hot does that sound?"

Honestly, the thought repulsed me, but I continued to listen anyway.

"Humph," said the other girl, looking away from her friend. "I hope the bastard dies. He deserves it."

I could tell by the first girl's expression that she was rolling her eyes.

"Oh please, you're just still pissed that he hooked up with you last month and never called you again."

"Yeah, me and half the girls in the district!"

This Seni character didn't sound like a very nice guy, but still I listened in. Maybe the two would say something important about him. And they did.

"I bet it's his father pushing him to volunteer," said the first girl sympathetically. "It must be hard being related to the Head Peacekeeper."

Now it was the second girls turn to roll her eyes.

"You're not fooling anyone, Ivory. The only hard thing on your mind is what you're hoping to find in his pants!"

"Glitter!" Ivory gasped, letting out a small giggle and giving her friend a push. "So not the point I was trying to make!"

I tuned out after that. I'd gotten all the information I needed. Seni Gold, son of Silken Gold, was volunteering for the Hunger Games, an opportunity for revenge handed to me on a silver platter. I was going to do exactly what was done to me. Instead of taking out Silken Gold, I would kill his eldest son and let him live with the knowledge of how and why it happened. Let's see hoe much he enjoys the pain of losing a loved one. Let's see how much he enjoys knowing that it's his own fault his son is dead. Let's see how much he enjoys it when he sees the daughter of the woman he had killed stab his son through the heart.

My mind was already made up as I joined the other twelve-year-olds in the square. I was volunteering for the 49th annual Hunger Games.


	6. Chapter 5: Unwanted Angela

**Angela Hopeful Winters, District 8**

"So you've been having these headaches for a while now, right?" I asked, folding my arms and looking down at the small ten-year-old on the chair before me. "How long has it been exactly?"

Lea looked up at me in confusion. "Ah, I'm not sure," she said in a small voice, glancing around the dingy room. "I-I can't really remember."

"Confusion and memory loss," I tutted as I leaned forward in my seat. "Not a very good sign. Okay Lea, can you stare straight ahead for me please."

Lea nodded and obeyed, looking slightly freaked out at her bright blue eyes focuses on my face. I moved my hands besides her ears.

"Right, tell me when you can see my fingers."

Lea nodded again and I began to move my hands forward, very slowly at first but quickly picking up pace as I reached the sides of her eyes.

"I see them!" exclaimed Lea, her little face lighting up. "That's good, right?"

I sighed and shook my head. "I'm afraid not Lea," I said slowly. "It looks like you have a brain tumour."

"A b-brain tumour? L-like cancer?"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," I said matter-of-factly. "It seems pretty far along already. My guess would be that you have about a month at the most left to live."

"A-a month?"

There was a snort of laughter from the other side of the room and I turned my head to glare at my best friend who was lying stretched out on my bed. How dare he contradict my diagnosis.

"Lea, relax," he chuckled, lifting his arms up above his head. "You've probably just got the flu or something. You know how dramatic Angie can be."

"Don't call me Angie," I snapped as I turned back to face Lea. "My name is _Angela _and I know I'm right. Deep down, Lea knows it too."

Chase rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever you say, _Angela_." He sighed and propped himself up on his elbows. "Look Lea, Ange clearly has no idea what she's talking about. Go to the infirmary and get something for your headache. They'll fix you up real good."

Lea nearly tripped over the carpet as she ran out of the room. Wow that girl sure could move when she wanted to. Well fine, it's her own fault now if she dies of cancer. She sure won't see me sitting at her death bed and holding her hand. Actually, I probably would be there; someone has to say 'I told you so'.

"Nice work," I hissed, rounding on Chase. "Now her blood is going to be on your hands."

"God you're such a drama queen," he replied with another roll of his brown eyes. "Seriously, you can make practically anything seem like a life threatening situation."

"Yeah? Name one."

"Well for starters, this is a pretty good example," said Chase, grinning widely at me. "Oh, and that time you were convinced the new dorm mistress was actually a Capitol spy out to rig the reapings so orphanage kids would get chosen-"

"-A kid from the orphanage did get picked that year-"

"And when you jumped out of the school bus because the driver was taking a new route and you thought that he was kidnapping us. And that day when-"

"-Okay, okay, I get the point," I muttered, getting up from my seat going over to sit besides him on the bed. "Can you plait my hair for me?"

"Don't you want to try a new hair style?" Chase asked as he started to scrape back my long, jet-black hair. "I mean, you've been wearing this thing for years now."

"I like it," I said simply, closing my eyes. "I was wearing it when I met you."

"Oh yeah, that day I caught you climbing down the side wall of out school because you were convinced that Ms Grapher was secretly a vampire."

"Shut up."

Chase laughed and went back to plaiting my hair. So my imagination could get a bit carried away at times. So what? One day, I might actually be right about something and then they'll all be sorry that they never listened to me. Besides, my over-reactive imagination is how I met my best friend.

I am so thankful to have Chase it my life. Before him, I had nobody. I never knew my parents; they left me on the steps to the district orphanage when I was only a few days old, with a tiny scrap of papers taped to my forehead which read "Angela". I don't even know what my last name is, but the orphanage mistress decided that it would be winters because of the season I was found in. As you can probably guess, they're a lot of "season children" running around this place. We're the ones that no one wanted.

Sometimes I wish that my parents could have died in a fire, or maybe even a factory accident like Lea's parents. Does it make me a bad person to wish that someone wanted me?

There was a beeping noise and the intercom above our heads crackled into life.

"_Angela Hopeful Winters, can you come down to my office. Angela Hopeful Winters, come down to my office. That is all."_

"Oh lord, what have you done this time?" Chase sighed, tying up the end of my plait with a purple ribbon. "Do you think Lea told on you for scaring her?"

"I doubt it," I replied as I stood up. "I'm just as confused as you are." I smiled. "You should probably head home. You're mom's probably freaking out that you're not getting ready for the reaping." I grinned at him again and left the room.

Going to see the orphanage mistress is kind of like going to see you're school's principal. As you take the long walk down to the office, all the tings you could have possibly done wrong play through your mind as you try to work out just what the hell you've done to get called down there. Oh yeah, and the other kids all stare at you.

"_Oooh Angela's in trouble."_

"_You've probably really done it this time, Angela."_

"_Geez Angela, what got you called down there?"_

"Just shut up!" I shouted, spinning around to glare at the crowd of children following me. "Get off my back and quite the chatting!"

Without checking to see if the crowd bothers to disperse, I turned on my heel and marched away. I was so annoyed that I forgot to knock on the mistress's door and instead I barged right in.

"You wanted to see me, Mistress?" I asked as I closed the door.

"A knock would be nice," said the orphanage mistress, Ms Grange, said sternly.

"I know, but-" I stopped speaking immediately as I looked up and my breath caught in my throat. I couldn't help it.

Ms Grange was sitting in her usual spot behind her desk, glaring at me from behind her thick-rimmed glasses. But that wasn't what caught my attention. On the other side of the desk were two people, a man and a woman, who looked slightly nervous.

"Oh, hi," I said awkwardly, looking down at my feet. "I didn't realise you had visitors."

"Take a seat Angela," ordered Ms Grange with a sigh. She continued after I sat down. "Angela, this is Mr and Mrs O'Riley. They own a large number of textile factories down town."

"Nice to meet you," I said in a small voice, offering my hand to the couple. "I'm Angela."

Mrs O'Riley smiled warmly at me. She was a pretty woman, maybe in her late thirties with strawberry blond hair and dark blue eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Angela. We've been looking forward to meeting you for a while now."

"You have?"

"Mr and Mrs O'Riley have been married for several years now, but have found themselves unable to have children," Ms Grange explained carefully. "They've approached me in the hopes of adoption and instead of adopting a small baby like most people do, they decided on an older child because, according to them, they're getting old. I sent them some pictures and descriptions of children at this orphanage and, after much thought and deliberation, they decided on you."

Silence.

"Me?" I asked in disbelief. "You want to adopt me?"

"You seem like a lovely young girl, Angela," said Mr O'Riley pleasantly. "Your file was definitely the most interesting you read. An imaginative mind like yours will go far in the textile industry."

"But you've never even met me before!" I blurted out. "What if you decide you don't like me and send me back here after a week?"

"Angela! Manners!" barked Mrs Grange, narrowing her eyes at me. "Mr and Mrs O'Riley, I'm so sorry about that."

"It's okay," said Mrs O'Riley with another one of her sweet smiles. "I would have the same concerns if I was in her place." She turned to look at me. "I don't want you to worry Angela," she said sweetly. "We're very sure about this. We've never been surer about anything in our lives before."

Even though I was still quite doubtful of the whole situation, my heart lifted a bit. Someone wanted me. Someone actually wanted me. It's what I'd wanted all my life and now that day is here. I'd never thought that anyone would have an interest in adopting me, but even so I'd imagined this day for my entire life. The O'Rileys couldn't have been more perfect. They were a nice couple who obviously came from money and didn't mind my imagination one bit. In fact, they actually praised it. These people wanted me in their family and, despite my initial suspicion; I wanted to be in their family too. I was even to happy to come up with a dramatic story to why they really wanted me to live with them. I was getting adopted. I was actually getting adopted!

My world came crashing down all too soon.

"_Angela Hopeful Winters!"_

Dead silence. I looked around at the other 13-year-olds in my section with wide eyes. None of them would look at me. I tried to find Chase in his 14-year old section, but I couldn't see him anywhere. So I opened my mouth and began to scream. I screamed and screamed until a Peacekeeper picked me up forcefully and walked with me towards the stage. I screamed because my name was read out at the reaping. I screamed because I'd already lost the perfect family that I never had. I screamed because I'd probably never see Chase again. But more importantly, I screamed because I was going into the Hunger Games. And I wasn't coming out again.

**For those of you reading this story for a second time, I decided to add in this new character to keep things interesting. Hopefully you all liked her.**

**I've finished my exams now, so updates should be coming quicker. Oh and thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. I really appreciate it.**


	7. Chapter 6: Lexi's Sacrifice

**Lexus "Lexi" Annette Deryl, District 6**

"X! X! X!"

The cheers of the crowd egging me on, I spun around on the ball of my foot, slamming my heel into my opponent's chest and sending him sprawling backwards out of the ring. He hit the ground with a loud thump, and the crowd's cheers got even louder. I felt my hand being lifted into the air and then a voice shouted, "Victor, X!"

I grinned widely at the crowd, lifting my other arm into the air too, but I only had a few seconds to savour this moment before I felt a heavy body launch itself onto my back. I stumbled a little, taking a few steps forward to control the weight before straightening up again. I wasn't worried about the person clinging to my back though. I knew who it was.

"Nice job X!" cheered my ring partner and best friend, Byke as he ruffled my already messy brown hair. "Though things were looking a bit shaky at the beginning. He nearly had you there!"

I threw him off at that comment.

"Oh shut up, like you could have done any better!"

"Well I'd prove it to you if you ever decide to give me a chance in the ring!"

I aimed a half-hearted punch at his face, but he easily blocked it, grabbing my arm and pulling me into a hug.

"Nice to see you get off with minimal injuries this time," he said softly into my ear. "Although," he pulled back, holding my jaw between his fingers to examine my face, "that mark on your cheek is going to leave a hectic bruise tomorrow."

He kissed my cheek gently, but before I could react, something in the crowd caught my eye. Or rather, someone.

"Aston!" I shouted, shoving Byke aside and storming through the dispersing crowd towards my brother and his small companions. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I didn't have much of a choice, _little_sister," he replied, his bright blue eyes staring guiltily into mine. "I had to take them somewhere. I thought you'd be finished by now."

"Oh God, you're only older by eleven minutes," I said angrily, scooping up the youngest of the children at Aston's side. "Get over it." I gave the little girl a hug before I rounded on my brother again. "And for God's sake, Kiva is freaking five years old! The ring is no place for a child her age! Or his for that matter." I pointed at my brother Ford, the small, eight-year-old clinging onto Aston's hand.

"Well let's here it then," I snarled, handing Kiva to Byke and moving closer to my twin. "What's your excuse this time?"

Aston's gaze shifted from mine and he looked down at the ground.

"Rebecca had a, uh, client over," he mumbled, clearly awkward about this topic of conversation. "I needed to get them out of the house."

"Oh."

Honestly "oh" was all I could say. I hated Rebecca's so called "job" as much as Aston did, but in our current situation, her "job" is what's keeping us alive.

I guess you can call my family somewhat confusing. For one thing, there are no adults around, which leaves fifteen-year-old me responsible for looking after everyone else. Sure, Aston is technically older then me, but he's honestly the most irresponsible person alive. I don't like to think about where we would all be if he was in charge. My father is the only thing keeping us all from being sent off to the orphanage. Well if you can even call him a father. I only see him for about half a day every few months when he stops by our house, already drunk out of his mind, to drop off a small amount of money that he's earned working on the trains. Yeah, not much of a dad.

My mother's been dead for five years now, raped and then brutally murdered by some creep in the district. My elder sister Mary met the same fate a few years before that and so did one of my aunts. Well, we think that's what happened to her. We never found the body. That's actually the reason why I street fight, to learn how to protect myself in case this person ever decided to target me. In my opinion, he'd be stupid to try. No one wins a fight against me.

There are eight kids in total in my household, only four of them being my actual siblings. The other three are my cousins, Aran and Rebecca, who came to live with us after their mother went missing, and Shelby, whose mother died in childbirth. We still don't know who her father is.

The nice part about having them live with us is that we can all have a share in the work load. Aran, who is the same age as me, skips school to go hunting everyday with Aston. Sometimes Byke accompanies them, but he also has his own family to take care of. Shelby is the only one, apart from the younger children, who actually goes to school. She's the smart one in the family and teaches the rest of us the things she's learned at school in the evenings. It's hard to believe she'll be married in a few months. She's only fifteen!

I skip school to go to the ring most days of the week. I earn quite a bit of money when I win, but nothing compared to what Rebecca makes.

Rebecca is sixteen and honestly one of the most beautiful girls in the district. I know I'm considered pretty, but standing next to her I just look average. We have the same features, same light brown hair and bright blue eyes, but there just seems to be something more about her. I can't really explain it. It's just there.

And that brings me to Rebecca's "job" which we all hate. Rebecca goes out every night, sometimes during the day too, and sells her body to whoever will take her. Which is actually quite a number of people. I'm completely disgusted by the amount of grown men in our district willing to sleep with a sixteen-year-old, but I put up with it because Rebecca says she'll rather do it then have the rest of us take out tesserae. Secretly I'm glad. The thought of anyone I love going to the Hunger Games is too much for me to bear. I'm a family girl and will do anything to protect the ones I care about.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. Byke's.

"Thanks for bringing them here," he said calmly. He considers my siblings his siblings too. "I'm sure Lex can take it from here. We should go. Need to get some hunting done before the reaping."

Shit. The reaping? That's today? With all the excitement over my big fight, it had completely slipped my mind.

"Crap," I groaned, taking Kiva from Byke's arms. "I forgot about that. I promised I'd fetch Brunella from school today. It's her first reaping." I grabbed Ford's hand and started to drag him away. "See you guys later."

It wasn't a very long walk from the ring to Brunella's school and soon I could make out her small frame, sitting on the steps and looking extremely pissed off.

"Hey Bru," I said awkwardly as I walked up to her. "How was school today?"

"You promised you'd be here early," she replied, pouting. "So now I'm angry at you."

I rolled my eyes, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet.

"Come on," I sighed. "I'm here now. Time to go home."

Brunella pulled her arm out of my grip, but still continued to walk besides me, her arms crossed and that little pout still upon her face.

"I won my fight today," I said, my weak attempt to break the silence. "Isn't that cool? Your sister is a champ!"

"So?" she demanded, arms still crossed and still pouting. "I don't care. I'm mad at you."

"So," I said, digging into my pocket, "I won some money. How about you stop with this sulking and I buy you some sweets?"

This cheered her up a bit.

"Really?" she asked excitedly, unfolding her arms to clutch my hand. "Can I get one of those red lollipops?"

I grinned. "Yeah, whatever you want."

"Woo hoo! Come on Ford, let's race!"

Brunella let go of my hand and she and Ford shot off up the road.

"Hurry up Lexi!" she called over her shoulder. "They might close before we get there!"

I sighed and, holding Kiva tightly to my chest, ran after her. I knew the shop wouldn't be closing anytime soon, but the sooner we got home, the better.

It was about half an hour later when I walked through the front door of our small house, Brunella, Kiva and Ford all holding their little red lollipops like they were the most exciting thing in the world. I put down the bag of mint candies I'd bought and went into the lounge where I found Rebecca, sitting alone on the couch and applying ice to her wrist. She looked up when she heard me enter and gave me one of her sad smiles.

"Bru," I called, sticking me head into the hallway outside the lounge, "take the others upstairs, will you? You need to get ready for the reaping."

"Kay!"

I heard the soft patter of feet on the stairs, signifying that the younger children were out of ear shot. I went back into the lounge and sat down besides Rebecca on the couch.

"Here," I said softly, easing the ice pack out of her grip and gently pressing in onto her wrist. "Let me do that for you."

"Thanks," she said tiredly, closing her eyes and leaning backwards. "I appreciate it."

"You want to talk about it?"

Rebecca opened her eyes and smiled sadly at me again. "Nah, I'm alright," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Just tired." She paused. "You've probably had a rougher day than I had. Just look at your face!" She took the ice pack out of my hands and pressed it against my cheek. "How did your fight go?"

"I won," I replied, grinning despite my worry for my cousin. "It was close though. Well according to Byke anyway."

Rebecca laughed, brushing my hair off my face to apply the ice pack better. "Sounds like something he would say. Congrats!" She seemed to be in a better mood already. "Where are the boys anyway?"

"Hunting," I answered. "They said they'll meet us at the reaping."

"Oh that's today?" Rebecca asked, looking quite shocked. "I didn't realise it was that time of year again."

"Yeah, the Games seem to come pretty quickly," I said darkly. "But soon we'll be too old to be reaped. Can't wait for that."

"But we'll still have the younger kids to worry about," she reminded me. "And then our future children."

She had a point, but before I could reply, Brunella made an appearance in the doorway, all dressed up in her little yellow reaping dress.

"Lexi, can you do my hair?" she asked, not waiting for an answer before coming into the room and squishing herself between Rebecca and I on the couch.

"I guess so," I replied, bemused. "What do you want me to do?"

"A fisherman's plat."

A fisherman's plat was a long, thin braid originating from District 4, hence the name. Their female tribute from the last Hunger Games wore one and soon the new style had spread to the other districts. It was especially popular in my district, at least half the girls wore one regularly. The style didn't really suit me, but it looked perfect in Brunella's long, thin hair.

"I guess I could do that," I said, starting to brush out my sister's hair. "But we need to be quick. I also have to get ready for the reaping."

"I'll do it," said Rebecca, taking the brush out of my hands. "You should go wash. You smell."

Brunella giggled and I gave Rebecca a small push.

"Hey, no fair," I complained. "I'm allowed to be sweaty. I just won my fight!"

"Yeah, yeah, we know," laughed Rebecca. "Now go. I'll take care of this."

Laughing, I got up off the couch and went upstairs, checking in on Ford and Kiva before going into the room I shared with Shelby and shutting the door. Opening up the small cupboard, I selected a blue dress hanging right at the back. It would have been Mary's next reaping dress, but she was murdered before she had the chance to wear it.

Throwing the dress down on my bed, I splashed myself with water from the bowl besides the door and brushed out my knotty hair while it dried. I dressed quickly and went back downstairs, not even bothering to look in the mirror on my way down.

"You look nice," said Rebecca as I walked into the lounge. "I especially love the colour of your dress."

"Thanks," I said, smiling. "It was Mary's." I turned towards the door. "Well, come one then. Let's get this over with."

I stood between Byke and Aston in the roped off fifteen-year-old section, listening to the major make the same boring speech he does every year. As he rambled on and on about the formation of our "wondrous" country, I let my eyes wonder around the crowd, trying to catch any familiar faces. I quickly caught sight of Rebecca, standing between two boys her age who I didn't know. She caught my eye and gave me a tiny wave before looking back up to the stage. Brunella was a few rows to her right, standing with the other 12-year-olds and looking completely terrified. She didn't see me looking. I wasn't worried about her though. Her name was only entered once anyway.

The sound of clapping broke me out of my trance and I looked up to see our district escort, Harmony something, make his way onto the stage. This year, he was dressed entirely in white, save for his ridiculous bright red hair and matching bow tie. I swear these Capitol escorts get weirder and weirder each year.

"Happy Hunger Games everyone!" he squeaked excitedly, his red curls bouncing up and down as he spoke. "And may the odds be _ever_in your favour!" Without waiting for the crowd to react, he went on.

"Now, I'm sure you all are even more excited than I am!" he said enthusiastically. "So let's get started then! Ladies first!"

He placed his hand neatly into the glass ball with all the girls' names. He drew one, cleared his throat and read out the name in a loud, clear voice.

"Rebecca Deryl!"

It was like the world around me had frozen. Had he just said Rebecca? Sweet little Rebecca who would never hurt a fly? Sweet little Rebecca who supplied over half of our monthly income? Sweet little Rebecca who didn't know how to defend her self? Unlike me.

I was vaguely aware of Byke and Aston holding onto my arms, trying to pull me backwards as I fought my way towards the stage.

"I volunteer!" I shouted as loudly as I could. "I volunteer as tribute!"

Rebecca's screams seemed muffled as I walked with my head held high towards the stage. I didn't regret my decision one bit. Rebecca had no chance of winning the Games, that much was true. The other's needed her at home too, much more than they needed me. At least I had a chance of winning. If I won, I could get our family out of poverty and we would never have to worry about anything again. I'd made a good decision. I was going to save my family.

Harmony was besides himself with excitement.

"Oooh this is so exciting!" he squeaked, shaking my hand with more enthusiasm than I thought could possibly some from one person. "District 6's first volunteer!" Well that was certainly true. Volunteering here was considered a death with. Suicide. But of course, it's all pure excitement to these Capitol morons. "And what's your name, dear?"

"Lexus Deryl," I said into the microphone, "but everyone calls me Lexi."

"Well Lexi, you're a very brave girl, volunteering for your sister like that!"

"My cousin, actually."

"Still brave, my dear. Still brave!"

Harmony then moved me off to one side so he could pick the unlucky boy who would be joining me in the arena.

"And now for the boys!"

He stuck his hand into the boys' ball and drew out a name.

"Vitz Morales!"

A well-built boy with spiky orange hair exited the 18-year-old line and began to make his way up to the stage. His face was composed, brave almost, but I couldn't help noticing that his hands were shaking, but from rage or fear, I couldn't tell. And then I saw her.

Standing across the dirt road from the spiky-haired boy was a rather pretty brunette girl, her green eyes frantic with fear and both hands clutching her oddly rounded stomach...

Oh God, this boy was leaving behind his pregnant girlfriend.

I suddenly felt sick. This was wrong on so many levels. Didn't someone care enough about the couple to volunteer for the boy? He was going to be a father for God's sake! I didn't hesitate to volunteer for someone I loved, so why wasn't anyone speaking up? Cowards.

My stomach dropped as another thought popped into my mind. This boy would have to die if I wanted to make it home to my family. He'd be taken from his, just so I could get back to mine. The whole idea was wrong. This shouldn't be happening to either of us.

But of course I didn't say any of this. I just quietly shook the boy's hand, which was still shaking. Harmony said his closing speech and then the Peacekeepers appeared, ready to march us off into the Justice Building to what would be the most painful hour of my life.


	8. Chapter 7: Vitz's Promise

**Vitz Morales, District 6**

Numb. That's the only word I can find to describe my feelings right now. Or rather, lack of.

Why now? Why now that my life has finally started to turn around? I'd found a good, stable factory job, making cars for the Capitol, and Corolla and I are ready to settle down, ready to start our family. But then the Capitol came along and pulled it all out from under my feet.

In the back of my mind, I always knew this day would come. I was stupid to think that I'd be safe, that they'd somehow forgotten about me. But of course, I was wrong. They were just waiting, biding their time until they could strike me down when it would hurt me the most. Well it worked. I can't imagine a worse time then this.

Agh! How could I have possibly believed that I could be overlooked? Stupid, stupid, stupid! It had been such a long time since that day. I guess that's what gave me my false hope.

My mother was District 6's first female victor, winning her Games when she was just 14-years-old. Her win was mostly luck though. She'd been hiding up until the final four, waiting for the other tributes to kill each other. The other three remaining tributes were the surviving members of the Career pack, but instead of a dramatic, bloody showdown like the Capitol wanted, they chased my mother up the arena's mountain, where she managed to dislodge some boulders and crushed them all to death.

Maybe things would have worked out better if she'd just died that day. My father would still be alive, maybe even happily married with some children. Corolla would never have met me, since I wouldn't have existed, and she'd have a chance at a better life, a better life with someone who could make her happy. Unlike me. All I can ever do from now on is cause her pain. If my mother had died that day, my child wouldn't have to grow up without her father. In fact, my daughter wouldn't even exist, which is a good thing considering this messed up world we live in. And I wouldn't have to compete in the Hunger Games.

I shuddered at the thought. Even though the idea of going to the Games had been drilled into my head by my late parents the moment I could talk, the prospect of it all still terrified me. They'd known I'd be chosen. The Capitol often rigged the reapings to ensure that the offspring of past victors would be selected. They don't admit to it, but it happens far too often for it to be considered a coincidence.

So I was trained. As soon as I was brought home from the district hospital, my parents began to draw up some flash cards with pictures of weapons on them. When I could sit up, my mother started to show me all the edible plants she knew of. When I could crawl, I was taught how to crawl under things and how to roll to avoid things that were thrown at me. As soon as I could stand, I was taught combat skills and by the age of four I could use most weapons, though admittedly I wasn't very good with them. It was only when I was about seven years old that I could use the weapons flawlessly. My parents trained me like a Career, just in case their instincts proved true and I was selected for the Games. Turns out they were right all along.

I was ten when my world fell apart.

I was practicing my knife throwing in the back garden of our house in the Victor's Village, when the Peacekeepers showed up, stunning my parents and me and dragging us to the Justice Building. There, in front of the entire district, my parents both took a bullet to the head. I was left alone though. The Peacekeepers thought that witnessing my parent's deaths was scarring enough and I didn't need to be punished further for something I had no hand in. Turns out they thought my parent's were training me for some sort of rebellion, but by the time they found out the truth, it was too late. I had already been pulled out of my old life and shut away in the district orphanage. Life there wasn't too bad though. That's where I met Corolla.

She was nine years old when we met and we instantly became friends. We started dating five years later. Even now, I still don't think I deserve having someone as wonderful as her in my life. She's honestly the most amazing girl I've ever met. I couldn't have chosen anyone better to be the mother of my child.

Corolla's pregnancy came as a surprise to us, but even so we were over the moon with joy. It was the best thing that had ever happened to me in my short life, something so prefect that I thought that even I couldn't mess it up. Turns out I could after all.

The door of my room in the Justice Building slowly opened. I looked up to see Corolla standing in the doorway, her arms around her stomach and her face red from crying. I didn't say anything. I just held open my arms so that she could come sit with me. She crossed the room quickly, cuddling up close to me with her face pressed into me shoulder. I could feel her tears through my thin shift.

"How could they do this to us," she whispered into my shoulder. "You were right, we should have run away the moment we found out about Celica."

Celica. Our daughter.

"We wouldn't have gotten very far," I replied, gently stroking her hair. "You know that."

She sniffed. "Yeah, but anything would be better then this."

I didn't agree, but I didn't say anything. I'd much rather be forced into the Hunger Games then have my family killed.

"It'll be alright, you know," I said softly. "You're going to be a great mother. Celica is lucky to have someone like you, love."

"Don't say that," she said, drawing back from me and placing both hands on either side of my face. "Don't say that like you're saying good-bye. You're going to win. You're going to come home!"

I didn't have the heart to tell her that that probably wouldn't happen, that I probably wouldn't make it home. Instead, I kissed her softly, winding my arms around her waist to draw her closer to me. She didn't protest and allowed me to pull her, her delicate hands never moving from my face.

"I have something for you," she said suddenly, her lips barely touching mine. "Here."

I felt her pull away one of my hands from around her body as she pressed something into it. Looking down, I saw it was a small, silver chain with a metal plate on the end. Engraved on it was my name, her name and the name of our unborn daughter.

I kissed her again.

"I love it," I whispered. "Thank you." I paused, my forehead touching hers as I looked into her beautiful green eyes. "I actually have something for you too."

I reached into my pocket and felt my hand close around the ring. The ring I'd been planning to give to Corolla for months, but had never found the right time.

"For you, love."

I was afraid she would start crying again, but she held in her tears as she took the ring, smiling.

"It's beautiful," she said softly, leaning in to kiss me again. "Thank you." But then I felt her drop the ring back into my hand and she gently closed my fingers around it.

"Keep it," she whispered, holding tightly to my hand which held the ring. "Give it to me when you come home."

"I will. I promise."

I kissed her once more, but the moment was too short. I soon felt the Peacekeeper pulling her off me and then they were dragging her away as she struggled and screamed.

"Please win Vitz!" she cried, tears starting to run down her face again. "Come back home to me. I love you."

"I love you too. I'll see you in a few weeks, okay?"

And then she was gone.

That was when I broke down. I had tried to keep it in for so long, trying to stay strong for Corolla, but I knew I couldn't keep it in forever. So I just sat there with my head in my hands, crying for everything that had gone wrong in my life. Losing Corolla, our child, my parents. All that grief that I'd held inside for years just came pouring out. If only the others could see me now. Strong, tough Vitz crying his eyes out. They'd all have a good laugh.

When the tears finally stopped, I wiped my face with the back of my shirt's sleeve. I knew I had to regain composure again. I could not go to the Capitol looking like I've just been crying.

Then I remembered the ring and opened my hand. I had been clenching my fist so tightly that the ring had cut into my skin, drawing a tiny droplet of blood. I ignored it and fastened the ring onto the chain Corolla had given me. My token for the Hunger Games.

I jumped slightly as the door opened again. I wasn't expecting anymore visitors. Apart from Corolla, I had no one.

The girl standing in the doorway looked about fifteen, with light brown hair and bright blue eyes. I recognised her instantly. I'd seen her fight often enough. To most of the district, she was known as simply "X" or sometimes even "Lexi". I knew her as my district partner.

"Hey," she said awkwardly. "Mind if I come in?"

"Are you even allowed to be here?"

My reply was a little harsh, but I really wasn't in the mood to be nice.

She shrugged and moved into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"I don't know. But my visitors have all gone and I just didn't want to be alone." She looked as if she was about to cry. "I came to see if you were alright."

"Well I'm just peachy, thanks for asking."

I could tell my sarcasm ticked her off.

"Look," she said, her voice sounding slightly annoyed, "we're going to the Games and there's nothing either of us can do about it. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and your knocked up girlfriend-"

I had her pinned against the wall before she could say another word.

"Don't you _dare_speak about Corolla like that," I snarled, my face inches from hers. I knew it was a bad idea to attack an experienced fighter like her, but at that moment I couldn't care less. Luckily for me, she seemed too surprised by my assault to do anything about it.

"Okay okay," she said quickly as she pulled her face as far from mine as she could. "I'm sorry. Just put me down, you're hurting me neck."

"Sorry."

I released her and took a step back.

"Wow," she said, wincing as she rubbed her neck, "you have quite the grip. Fast too." She looked me up and down. "Maybe there's a fighter in you yet."

I shrugged and sat back down.

"There's a lot you don't know about me."

She grinned. "Well you'd better start telling me then," she said, "otherwise being in alliance with you could be quite difficult."

"We're allies?"

I was slightly taken aback at this comment. This girl was so forward. She really didn't waste any time.

"Well of course," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "How else do you think we're gonna survive these Games? Plus, having another strong person in an alliance makes it easier to recruit others."

"Others?"

She winked. "Yup. You see Vitz, I have a plan." Her eyes left mine and she looked up at the clock above my head. "Oh our hour's nearly up! I should get back to my room before the Peacekeepers show up." She rushed over to the door, looking over her shoulder as she went through.

"See you later, ally."

And then she was gone too. Just like Corolla.

Corolla. I felt a stab of pain as I thought about her again. I needed to come home again. She needed me. Celica needed me. I looked up at the doorway where Lexi had just disappeared through. Maybe being in an alliance with her wouldn't be too bad after all. She did say she had a plan. Well whatever, she could do she liked as long as it got me home to my Corolla. I smiled slightly at the thought. I had every intention of keeping my promise.


	9. Chapter 8: Vee's Goodbye

**Vee Clesta, District 12**

My father was the first to visit me. He looked so small when he came into the room. So lost. It just broke my heart.

But I didn't cry. This wasn't the time for it. I needed to be strong for my family. Then, maybe. They'd be strong for me too.

"I'm going to be okay, Daddy," I said, crossing the room to give my father a hug. "You'll see."

He didn't reply. He just hugged me tightly, stroking me hair. I guess there wasn't actually much that he could say. We both knew how this would end.

"You remind me of her so much," he said suddenly, smiling as he placed his hands on my shoulders. "There's so much of her in you."

Even though he didn't say who he was talking about, I knew straight away. He was referring to my mother, who had died a few years ago in a fire which had destroyed our entire house. I knew I looked like her, I'd seen enough photographs. Same olive skin, same Seam grey eyes. The only difference was my dark red hair. My father's hair.

"If only she could see us now," I said glumly. "She'd have a fit!"

My father chuckled. "Yeah, that she would." He grew serious again, his dark eyes becoming hard. "Now listen Vee, your brain is your best weapon. You're a very smart girl. Use it to your advantage."

I nodded. "Okay."

Okay? Really, that's all I could come up with? There were so many thought running through my head, so many emotions. I was about to go to the Hunger Games after all. So why couldn't I say anything? Why couldn't I tell my father everything I was feeling. For the first time in my life, I was lost for words.

My father kissed my cheek and said, "I have to go now. Your sister is here to see you." He gave my shoulder one last squeeze. "Remember Vee, you're smarter then all of them put together."

I let a tear slip out as I watched my father walk away. What if that was the last time I ever saw him? I was smart, that much I knew, but how much help can that be against one of those giant Careers? I'd be lucky to escape the bloodbath.

The door opened again and in came my sister, running straight into my arms and burying her face into my white reaping dress.

"Why did they have to pick you?" she wailed, her nails digging into my back as she held on to me. "They're so many other girls! It's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair, Tor," I said, trying to keep the sadness from reaching my voice. "Now please loosen your grip. Your nails are killing my back."

She released me quickly.

"Sorry."

As soon as she let go of me, I realised that I wanted her back, so I pulled her into my arms again. These might be my last few moments with my little sister. I wasn't going to waste them.

"Look on the bright side," I said, trying to lighten the mood. "At least now you're rid of that mean boy in your class. You know, the one that won't stop pulling your plats. What's his name again? Killigan?"

"Killian," she corrected me, "but I still hate the thought of him going to the Games. You will look out for him, right?"

Ah, yes. Killian. That annoying, short, skinny boy with spiky blond hair who refuses to leave my sister alone. Honestly I wanted nothing more than to just leave him to die in the Games, but Torii was always so ethical, so forgiving. She despised this boy more then anything, but yet she still wanted me to try to help him. I wish I was as nice as her.

I sighed. "I'll do my best," I said, "but no promises, okay?"

Torii smiled. "Okay." She paused. "Just help him get through the bloodbath. I know he will die eventually. You're going to win after all."

I grinned. "Yeah, and then we're all going to move into the Victor's Village. Just think! We'll get a nice big house next to Old Fay's. And we'll have all the food we can eat, and even a shower! Isn't that exciting?"

Torii pulled a face. "I don't like Old Fay. She scares me." She stopped talking for a moment, considering the possibility of living in the Victor's Village. "I can have my own room!" she said suddenly, very enthusiastically. "And I'll never be woken up in the middle of the night by your snoring again."

"Hey, watch it," I said with a laugh, pushing my sister slightly. "I'm a quiet sleeper and you know it!"

"Nah uh," she disagreed. "I think you're the one who'd better watch it. Otherwise you're going to wake up the whole arena while you're asleep!" She started to make mock snoring sounds.

I couldn't help laughing and soon Torii was laughing too. We just stood there, in the middle of the room, clutching each other as fits of giggles overcame us. I was actually happy. This is how I wanted to remember my sister when I went into the arena. This laughing, joking little girl, not the crying figure who first came to say goodbye to me. Unfortunately, the moment was ruined by a Peacekeeper sticking her head round the door to tell us our time is up.

I kissed Torii's cheek and we said out last goodbyes. I was glad that she didn't cry when she left the room. I wanted my last memory of her to be a happy one.

I sighed and sat down in one of the armchairs next to the window. These goodbyes were so tiring! But I knew I still had one more to go.

And sure enough, the door opened once more, this time revealing my three best friends.

"Oh my God," said Morda sighed as she stomped into the room. "Vee, please don't tell me you're planning on wearing those boots to the Capitol."

I looked down at my boots. My signature combat boots. I wore then basically every day and they were my favourite item of clothing.

"What's wrong with them?" I asked, offended. "I wear them all the time. Why do you suddenly not like them?"

Morda rolled her eyes. "It's not that I don't like them," she explained, "it's just that this is the Capitol we're talking about! They're all fancy and stuff. Your boots just, well, aren't."

I guess that was true, but I didn't say I agreed with her. I just shrugged.

"Well I'm wearing them anyway. The Capitol will just have to get over it.

Seamus laughed and came over to sit on the arm of my chair.

"You show them, Vee," he said, ruffling my hair. "Make them remember you. You're going to be great!" He paused, looking me over. "How you feeling."

I shrugged again. "Less scared then I thought I would be," I admitted. "I thought I would be in tears by now."

"Well rather this then the Quarter Quell, sweetheart," said Haymitch, making himself comfortable in the armchair opposite mine. "Isn't that next year? I pity the poor sucker chosen for that."

This actually made me laugh. Ah Haymitch. Always trying to cheer me up.

"At least I can be thankful for that," I agreed, sighing. "Remember when we learned about the last one in school?"

Seamus nodded. "Yeah I remember. The districts had to vote for their tributes."

Morda shuddered. "That must have been horrible, being turned over by your district like that."

Haymitch snorted. "More like an honour for those bloody Careers. It must have been the happiest moment of their lives, being voted the strongest in the district."

"Speaking of Careers," said Seamus, steering the topic away from the previous Quell," have you given any thought to how you're going to handle the ones in your Games?"

"Not yet," I replied, shaking my head. "Any ideas?"

"I suggest you run," said Haymitch as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You're pretty speedy. Just get away from the bloodbath and hide out somewhere. Hopefully the other tributes will just kill each other. Oh and stay alive," he added as an after thought.

"Thanks," I said dryly. "I'll try not to die."

"That's the spirit!" he said cheerfully.

I just sighed.

"You're pretty good with knives too," said Morda, glaring daggers at Haymitch. "You should get a hold of some of those before you leave the bloodbath. As much as I hate to admit it," she shot Haymitch another annoyed look, "Haymitch is right about your speed-"

"-I generally am right," he muttered under his breath, causing Seamus to snort with laughter, quickly turning into a cough as Morda gave him an angry look.

"-so go in and find some knives," she continued, "and then get the hell out of there."

"Yeah," Seamus agreed, trying to get back onto Morda's good side, "you'll survive better with some sort of weapon. Don't want to start the Games empty handed."

"I guess not," I sighed, trying my best to sound hopeful. "Thanks for the advice, guys. Hopefully I'll remember it when the time comes."

"Oh you will," Seamus assured me. "You're a smart girl. You could even win this thing!"

"That's the plan," I said with as much confidence as I could muster. "I'm going to be District 12's second victor! I'm going to have a big house in the Victor's Village. With a shower!"

"Oooh a shower," said Haymitch sarcastically. "Aren't you important."

"Oh shut up. You're just jealous that you're not getting a house in the Victor's Village!"

"Yes Vee, I'm so jealous of you right now."

That shut me up. Way to ruin my mood.

"Ouch," said Morda, wincing at my expense. "Harsh."

"What do you think the Capitol's going to be like?" Seamus asked quickly, trying to change the subject. "Now that's something I would love to see."

Before anyone could reply, the same Peacekeeper as before came into the room, reminding us that our time was up. My friends all came over to hug me goodbye, Morda looking close to tears.

"Good luck, sweetheart," said Haymitch as he hugged me tightly. "And remember, when you get back, I book the first shower in your fancy house."

I laughed. "Yeah, you need it. Your smell is quite overpowering when you're this close."

He pushed me away. "Good one," he said approvingly. "I really should have seen that one coming."

My mood felt a lot lighter as I watched my friends leave the room. They always knew how to cheer me up. And then I remembered why I was so upset in the first place. I was about to go to the Capitol and in a week, I would be in the arena, fighting for my life. I hoped I would remember my friends' advice during that time. And my sister's wishes too. She wanted to me help that brat of a boy survive the bloodbath. But how could I manage that while trying to save my own skin?

I sighed and lent back in my chair. I guess I would just have to find out.


	10. Chapter 9: Lance's Thoughts

**Lance Wolff**

The room in the Justice Building was quite, so quite that I could hear my own heartbeat. I wasn't complaining though. I liked the quite. It gave me time to think.

And boy, did I have a lot to think about.

Truth be told, I was not expecting my name to come out of the reaping bowl today. I wasn't even paying attention, so lost in my own thoughts that it took a few pushes to get me to leave the line of seventeen-year-olds and walk up to the stage. Like every other year, the reaping had been a complete bore. Not even the escort's ridiculous outfit made an impression on me. I just wanted to go home, back to my peace and quiet. The only thing that actually interested me was the comments my fellow district members had to offer as I walked to the stage.

_Such a good-looking boy. He'll have no trouble pulling in some sponsors._

_Strong kid. He will go far in the Games._

_Such a pity. He held so much promise for the district._

_It's a shame he has to go. Everyone always speaks so highly of him._

These comments were quite surprising. I had no idea I was perceived this way. Especially the good-looking part.

I've always thought I looked quite average. I mean, there were loads more better looking guys in the district. Yeah, I guess I'm pretty tall, 5'11 to be precise, and I like to keep in shape, so I can see why people thing I'm strong and a good contender for the Games. In my opinion, I'm a bit pale for a typical District 4 boy, but that's only because I spend so much time inside helping my father with whatever experiment he wanted to try next. My eyes were another feature that wasn't typical of District 4. They were a golden yellow colour, almost hazel_, _with small flakes of green around the iris. Very different to the sea green eyes of the rest of the District. But even so, girls still seem to like me. Not to sound cocky, but I really had no trouble finding a girl. Except I haven't found _her _yet.

My hands flew up to touch the ring hanging around my neck. It was a delicate thing, made entirely out of silver with a small peal set into its centre. It belonged to my mother. Before she died.

I was only four when it happened, and honestly I don't remember much about my mother from before then. But I can remember her death like it was just yesterday.

She's been sick for a long time. My scientist father had done everything he could, but it was still not enough. On the night she died, I was sitting besides her bed, holding her frail hands and telling her a story. She cut me off in the middle of my story and asked me to take her ring off her hand. The ring I now wear around my neck on a leather chord. She told me to keep the ring somewhere safe and give it to the girl I loved when I found her. That's how she'd got the ring in the first place. From my dad.

She died a few hours later. And now the ring would die with me.

My blood ran cold as I thought of what I would eventually have to face. Even though I came from a Career district, I didn't want to go into the arena. I guess everyone else assumed I did since no one bothered to volunteer for me. Sure, I had a pretty good chance of winning, but the Hunger Games really wasn't something I was interested in. Unlike my district partner.

Naomi Sakura. That's her name, and basically the only thing I actually know about her, even though she's in my class at school. She's one of those stupid blond girls who sit at the back of the class, always worrying about their appearances and who's currently dating who. One of those girls who were always fist in line in Town Square to watch the Games every year. The total opposite of me.

I did feel I bit sorry for her though. Even though she would be welcomed into the Career pack with open arms, she had no chance of winning the Games. The winner needs to be strong and smart and a ditzy little girl didn't quite make the cut. She's a pretty fast runner though, I'll give her that. Maybe she could just outrun the competition and wait until we all starved. I knew for a fact that she had no problem with not eating. How else could she and all her friends stay so perfectly thin?

At least she had her looks going for her, but that only gets you so far in the Hunger Games.

I sighed and lend my head against the window. I wonder how far I'd get in the Hunger Games? Hopefully further then the boy who was reaped last year. He died in the bloodbath on the first day. Well that was his mistake. He chose not to ally himself with the other Careers, a mistake which I definitely won't make. As much as I hate to admit it, they're my ticket for survival.

I jumped as the door creaked open. More visitors? I had no idea I was so popular. Usually I just kept to myself.

This time it was a group of girls from my class. Usually I'd be pleased to see a bunch of girls giving me attention, but these ones were part of the group that make up the blond idiots at the back of my class. Naomi's friends. Great.

"We just wanted to wish you luck, Lance," sniffed Ula, the ringleader. She looked like she's been crying, her sea green eyes all red and puffy. "We were just saying goodbye to Naomi. Thought we should pop in here too."

"Uh, thanks?" I said, not really sure how else to reply. "I appreciate it."

The other girls just nodded, their silent way of agreeing with what Ula just said. Not like they ever disagreed with her anyway.

Ula smiled sadly and left the room without even a goodbye. The other girls filed out after her.

That was honestly one of the weirdest things that's ever happened to me. But then again, today was a pretty weird day.

Many more visitors shuffled into the room after the blonds left. Some of them I barely knew, I just recognised their faces. It was actually quite awkward for me. I prefer to spend my time alone.

My dad came in after a while. His visit was brief, wishing me luck and telling me he loved me. Typical things for a father to say.

I had no more visitors after he left. The next time the door opened, it was the Peacekeepers, ready to march me off to the train station. By morning, I'd be in the Capitol.

**I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I've been really busy. Updates should be coming daily now. Thanks to all my reviewers. You guys make me want to keep writing **


	11. Chapter 10: Seni's Ride to the Capitol

**Seni Gold, District 1**

I couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed as I looked down at the tiny girl in front of me. Just great. I finally get my chance to volunteer for the Games, and this is the district partner I get stuck with? Not some gorgeous, and hopefully slutty, 16 or 17-year-old from my school, but this...this _child_! I was in for some lonely nights in the Capitol.

I guess the kid wasn't actually ugly. In fact, in a few years, she could easily grow into someone I would go for. The problem is that she isn't quite there yet. It would just be wrong of me to pursue a girl her age. I may try to hide it, but I do actually have some morals.

"So what can you do?" I asked, folding my arms and narrowing my eyes at the little girl. "You have to be good at something. You're a freaking volunteer!"

"I, uh, I'm pretty good with a bow," she stuttered, not meeting my gaze.

Good. I intimidate her.

"Pretty good? You'd better be bloody excellent to stand a chance of getting in with us Careers!"

"My dad taught me when I was little," she said in a small voice. "He's a victor, you know."

I couldn't help being slightly impressed at this, but I didn't show it. I needed to have this girl under my thumb before we even reached the Capitol.

"Yeah, what Game?"

"Twenty-fourth."

I was surprised to find that I actually knew of that Game. My father had shown it to me to prepare for this one. It was one of the most bloody Games to date. The final showdown, where the victor bludgeoned the last remaining tribute to death with a rusty mace, was voted the most gruesome final of all times. So this was the child of that victor. Maybe she had some blood lust in her after all.

"Shooting arrows doesn't seem like your father's style," I said dryly. "He seemed like more of an up-front type of guy."

"Can you see me trying to fight with a mace like he did, or even a sword for that matter?" she asked, sounding slightly amused.

I looked her up and down. She was very small, very weak looking. I highly doubted that she'd even be able to lift a heavy weapon like that off the ground.

"You'd probably take yourself out in the process," I replied, smirking. "Stick to your little arrows."

The door of our train compartment opened and our escort, Dysis, popped her bright blue head around the side.

"Maddie, Seni, dinner's ready," she said in her sing-song voice. "Just down the hall, third door on the left." She paused, beaming at us. "And your mentors have arrived! Isn't that exciting? I bet you can't wait to see who you two got this year!"

Well she was right about that. I was quite curious about who they've chosen to mentor District 1 this year. A good mentor can mean the difference between life and death in the arena and, since I was planning on winning, I needed the best one around.

Without giving Maddie another look, I left the compartment, following idiotic Dysis down the train's corridor to the dining room. The soft patter of little feet behind me indicated that Maddie was following closely. The kid had a lot to learn about stealth.

The two figures sitting in the lavish dining room stood up as we entered.

"Hi," said the man, taking a few steps forward and offering his hand out to me, "I'm-"

"-I know who you are," I cut across, grasping his hand and shaking it firmly. "Lucero Fitz, victor of the 45th Hunger Games. You used to go to my school."

Lucero grinned, shaking his shaggy blond hair out of his chocolate brown eyes. "Well I'm flattered you remember me," he laughed. "You must have been quite a bit younger then me."

I nodded. "I was thirteen when you won. But how could I not remember you? You were like my idol! All those girls just throwing themselves at you, like all the time. Respect."

Lucero raised his eyebrows. "From what I hear, you're not that different."

"Well-"

"-I don't like where this conversation is going," interrupted the female mentor who, although was still quite pretty, looked about ten years older then Lucero. "I'm Meer," she continued, introducing herself, "and I won the 33rd Hunger Games." She paused, looking both me and my district partner up and down. "Interesting contrast," she observed, her lips pressing together to form a thin line, "but let's not waste any more time now. They're showing a recap of the reapings now. This way."

Meer led us to the end of the room where there was a large, flat screened TV opposite a long purple couch. She settled herself down comfortably and turned on the TV. The Capitol's anthem had just finished playing and they quickly cut to a shot of District 1's reaping. My reaping.

And sure enough, there was Maddie, raising her little hand in the air to volunteer. I was next, pushing through the crowd to get to the front. No one else even tried to volunteer. They knew I would have killed them if they did.

District 2 was quite surprising. It started off like it normally did, with a vicious-looking blond girl volunteering herself for the Games. The surprise came after, when her brother's name got pulled out of the glass reaping ball. Well these two are certainly going to be interesting.

I didn't take much note of District 3. They were usually bloodbath deaths anyway.

District 4 produced a giggling blond who looked absolutely excited about being chosen. I smiled to myself as I watched her run up to the stage. Now that was more like it. Someone I could have a bit of fun with. Her district partner looked a bit withdrawn, but his strength would make up for that.

So there they were. My allies in the Games, since the tributes from Districts 1, 2 and 4 traditionally team up. They looked like quite a strong bunch, especially that District 2 girl. This was all going to be too easy. And after we've hunted down and killed the rest of the pathetic tributes, I'll have no problem with slitting each of their little throats. Maybe I'll even do that before we split up. Would be a nice show for the Capitol.

After checking out the rest of my future alliance, I basically just sat there and rated all the other girls who went up on stage. There certainly wasn't a shortage of pretty girls this year. District 6 was particularly good-looking, good body with nice legs, but she looked a bit too tough for my liking, especially with that bruise on her right cheek. District 7 wasn't bad either; I've always had a soft spot for blonds. District 8 was pretty cute, District 9 and 10 too young and District 11 just plain scary. Don't get me wrong, she definitely wasn't ugly, but a girl like her belonged in a Career district, not a poverty stricken place like District 11. Maybe one of the other Careers would try to recruit her. If not, we'd better take her out fast. There was something quite alluring about the District 12 girl. Maybe it was her hair that I found so striking? I'd never seen hair that shade of red before. It really complimented her features.

Complimented her features? God, what was I thinking about?

Meer switched off the TV and turned to Maddie and me.

"So what do you think of your competition?" she asked, watching for Lucero's reaction out of the corner of her eyes.

I shrugged. "I just checked out all the hot girls," I yawned, stretching my arms up above my head. "Seems to be quite a few this year."

Meer ignored my reply and asked Maddie the same question.

"The Career group looks very strong this year," she said, looking more at me than at Meer. "I'm just glad that I'm not going to be the one hunted by them."

Lucero nodded. "I agree. Actually," he winked, "I agree with both of you."

I burst into laughter, laughing even harder at the angry looks that came his was, courtesy of Meer and Dysis.

"Dinner time," said Dysis, quickly getting up and rushing over to the table. "We'll be in the Capitol in about an hour and I want you all fed well before then!"

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	12. Chapter 11: The Chariot Rides

**Naomi Sakura, District 4**

I sat in a comfortable armchair by the window, watching the countryside whisk by as I lazily twirled a strand of my long blond hair around my finger. Round and round and round my finger. Just like the rest of my alliance will be once the Games have started.

Stupid children. Just because someone has blond hair and a pretty face, doesn't mean that they're a complete air head. I know that's what the people at school think of me. But it's not like I do anything to change their views.

I smirked at the thought. In fact, I did everything I could to ensure that they thought of me that way, giggle at basically everything, be overly flirty, and even fail tests on purpose. It gets a bit tiring after a while, but all worth it in the end.

You see, I use people. It's really easy to get what you want when people think you're ditzy. Especially with guys. They're so stupid when it comes to pretty girls, they'll do practically anything for you. Quite pathetic actually.

It's the same at school. My darling "friend" Ula is so full of herself. Thinks she's so great, thinks she's in control of everything. Ha! Well she's wrong about that. The bitch doesn't realise that I'm actually the one controlling her.

I guess I did actually have real friends once, long ago, first grade maybe. It didn't take me long to realise they were no good, that I'd never get very far in life being associated with those people. I felt no remorse leaving them to join Ula's gang. I never looked back. I don't feel guilt.

Still winding my hair around my finger, I started to laugh quietly. I was remembering yesterday's reaping. How I ran up to the stage, giggling, gushing and telling everyone how excited I was to be chosen. How I battered my eyelashes and flipped my hair while standing on the stage, waiting for my district partner to be announced. Of course, it was all an act. I needed to be seen as some overly girly blond, or else I'd never be able to manipulate the others in the Career pack. You can't control people if they don't think they're controlling you instead.

"What are you laughing about?"

I pretended to jump at the sound of the annoyed voice behind me. I knew he was there all along. I just chose to ignore him. All part of my act.

"Lance, you scared me!" I exclaimed, blinking innocently up at my district partner. "You should know better than to sneak up on a girl like that!"

"It wasn't hard with you laughing like a maniac," he replied, clearly irritated.

I giggled. "Oh, I didn't realise that I sounded crazy. Guys often tell me I have the cutest little laugh!"

"Well, quite obviously, they have other motives."

That comment annoyed me slightly, but I didn't let it show. It's not like he's never used a girl before. I'd heard things, and a pretty face like his can't have gone unnoticed. I would be attracted to him myself if he wasn't so...so calculating. Yeah, I think that's the right word to use. He'd see through my disguise in minutes. Hopefully he'd be too distracted about the Games to take a closer look at my "personality". Not that he'd want to anyway. I know he hates my crowd, and I don't blame him. Being surrounded by idiots all day is exhausting!

But instead of voicing my thoughts, I just giggled, winked and said, "That does explain a lot then! Guys always say nice stuff before they-"

Lance held up his hand. "-Save it," he cut across. "I don't really care. I'm only here to let you know that we'll be in the Capitol soon and Mags wants to see you in the dining room."

Ah Mags. Winner of the 8th Hunger Games and District 4's first female victor. Since she's fifty-seven now, I whined and moaned about having some old lady mentor me, but I was secretly glad. She may be old, but she's experienced and she's seen a lot. Someone like her could help me win the Games. Well, not like I needed much help anyway. I could easily win on my own. It's all just a question of who you use and how.

I battered my long eyelashes at Lance. "And here I was thinking that you actually wanted to spend time with me," I sighed, twirling my hair again. "Aren't you bored Lance? Don't you want to have a bit of fun before we reach the Capitol?" I giggled again.

Just like I expected, Lance did not look impressed.

"Just get to the dining room," he snapped as he turned away from me to leave the room.

"Fine!" I called after him, trying to add a bit of hurt to my voice when I really couldn't care less. "It's your loss. Most guys would jump at the chance!"

That much was true, but Lance still paid me no attention. Well that's definitely something I'm not used to. What was his problem anyway? Not that I cared much; I just wasn't used to being turned down. It's not like I'm ugly or anything.

I smirked as I began to wind my hair around my finger again. It might take a little longer, but Lance will eventually be under my thumb. Just like all the others.

**Lara Anders, District 11**

The roar of the crowd was deafening as I stepped out of the train and onto the Capitol platform. Despite my obvious attempts at ignoring them, those Capitol idiots still insisted on calling out my name. I was surprised they knew me already. I must have made more of an impression at the reaping than I thought. It must be because of my strong build. I'm quite unlike those wispy little girls who usually get reaped from District 11. Sure, I have the same colouring as them, dark skin, dark eyes and dark hair, but I'm a lot taller and my body just seems to have more muscle in it. The rest of the district isn't too thrilled about it because I can't climb as high as the others in the trees, but the Capitol sure seems to support it. Maybe I'll even gain some sponsors.

"Hi everyone! Hello!"

I gave my district partner a disgusted look. Seeder was definitely enjoying all the attention he was getting from the crowd. But even so, more people were calling my name than were calling his.

"They seem to like you," he muttered bitterly, still waving. "Just wave back already."

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm not a part of their little game," I said coolly, not looking at him. "I don't care how many times they call my name. I'm going to give them the satisfaction of waving back. Stop waving. You look stupid."

But of course, Seeder's waves kept coming. "No way, I have to wave," he said, grinning at the crowd as his hand waved around in the air. "I have to at least try and bring in some sponsors." He looked me up and down. "At least you can afford to be cool. You look like a freaking Career!"

After that comment, I ignored him just as I was ignoring all the other morons around me. I wasn't going to stoop to their level. Just in a few hours, I'd be all dressed up and put on display for their amusement and in a week's time, they'll all be watching me excitedly on TV, anxious to see who I'd kill and who would maybe kill me.

Well whatever happened, I sure wasn't going to _try_ to put on a good show for them.

The crowd began to scream louder, hooting and whistling, and turning their attention away from me. Good, another tribute train had turned up. District 12.

A spiky-haired blond boy leapt out of the train, waving wildly at the crowd. He looked about thirteen, but even so, the Capitol people seemed to love him. "Cute" I even heard someone say. God they make me sick. In my eyes, this kid didn't stand much of a chance, especially against some of those Careers I'd seem on the reaping re-cap. They're all just so excited to see the boy slaughtered on live TV. Disgusting.

A typical District 12 girl exited the train after the boy. She looked pretty much like they did every year, small, underfed with olive skin and grey eyes. The only thing different about this girl was her dark red hair. I'd never seen that colour on a District 12 tribute before.

The girl glanced up and saw me watching her. She gave me a small wave, rolled her eyes at the crowd and then started to wave at them.

I couldn't help smiling a little. Looks like I wasn't the only one who thought these Capitol people were a bore.

I was relieved when we were marched into a building to meet our prep team. Just as I suspected, they were a shallow bunch, all heavily made up and over-excitable.

"You must be Lara," gushed the tallest of the three, a skinny woman with an odd purple skin. "I'm Agalia."

"And I'm Zoya!" exclaimed a short, round faced woman with golden tattoos all over her body.

"And I'm Circe!" chimed in the last woman, her neon green curls bouncing with excitement.

"Welcome to the glorious Capitol!" they chorused, grabbing my hands and pulling me towards the prep room.

Oh God, they'd rehearsed that. I can't think of anything more pathetic.

After what seemed like five hours of scrubbing and plucking, they finally deemed me fit to meet my stylist.

"She's one of the best around," Zoya assured me as she and the other two made their way to the door. "I'm so excited to see what she does with you! She wouldn't tell us anything!"

I wasn't surprised. After spending all those hours with my prep team, I'd learned that Zoya was quite the gossip. I honestly didn't care what my stylist did to me. I was determined not to like it either way.

The door that my prep team had just exited through opened again and a tall woman entered. She was just as heavily made up as the other three, with dead-straight deep red hair, which kind of reminded me of the District 12 girl, and bright blue eyes, so bright that it almost hurt to look into them. She had a model's figure and had decorated all of it with shiny silver tattoos, making her pale body look like shimmering water. She was actually quite attractive, though I'd never admit it to anyone.

"Hi Lara," she said in a rich voice. "My name's Ocilla and, as I'm sure you've already guessed, I'll be your stylist for the remainder of your stay in the Capitol."

"Hi," I muttered, staring at the wall behind her head.

Ocilla chuckled. "Well you're certainly the most hostile tribute I've ever had," she said, sighing slightly. "No matter. They all warm up eventually."

"Well I won't," I snapped, still glaring at the wall. "Let's just get this over with."

Ocilla sighed again and walked around me, examining every inch of my naked body. I just stood their in silence, determined not to let her see how uncomfortable I was.

"You're quite athletic," she mused, still looking me over. "You clearly take care of yourself."

"Yeah, so?"

Ocilla shrugged. "I'm just glad I have a strong body to work with, not one of those tiny things I usually get from your district."

A tiny thing who usually dies in the bloodbath, I wanted to add. But I kept my mouth shut.

"Alright then," she said as she finished examining me. "I guess we should, how did you say it? Get this over with."

As much as I hated to admit it, I quite liked the dress that I'd been forced into. It was brown in colour, obviously made to replicate a tree, and it complimented my skin nicely. It was long, falling over my bare feet and making me look even taller than I already was. Soft, green leaves were threaded into my long hair, which was left to fall loose down my back. I looked like I belonged in the orchards back home.

Seeder, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky as me. He was wearing some sort of brown leotard, with long gashed cut into the sides to expose his dark skin. Leaves were sowed on just above the chest area, making him look like a hairy-chested troll-like thing. He was clearly uncomfortable, but at least he had some muscle definition going on. That made up for the ridiculous costume.

"You look great," he complimented as we got into our chariot.

"Can't say the same for you," I said, not showing him any form of thankfulness. "You look like some forest monster."

"Thanks," he said dryly and looked away. He completely ignored me for the rest of the ride. Good, I didn't need his comments anyway.

Since we were in the second last chariot, I had a pretty good view of the other tributes as they rode on ahead of us.

Like every year, District 1 was in front. The twelve-year-old I remembered seeing volunteer at her reaping looked absolutely stunning in her long, fitted, golden dress. As I watched it reflected the light shun upon her, I couldn't help but think it was a little bit too much for a girl her age. But then again, this is the Capitol after all. The boy standing next to her looked as dashing as he did on the reaping day, except that this time he was dressed in a white shirt, shimmering golden trousers and a matching tie. The gold definitely complimented both of the tribute's shiny blond hair. They would have no trouble bringing in sponsors.

District 2 were wearing matching, Peacekeeper-like uniforms. The girl looked fierce with her blond hair pulled back off her face into a high ponytail and the boy looked particularly threatening with his hair gelled back in the same way. It was scary how alike they looked, but it made sense considering that they were brother and sister. It was a little sad to think that one, if not both, would be dead soon.

District 3 was as unimpressive as always, decked out in some wire contraption which light up every now and then. It looked incredibly uncomfortable, but the two of them continued to wave excitedly at the crowd.

The District 4 girl definitely had the most provocative outfit on. Wasn't hard to guess what sort of angle her stylist was going for. Her dress was skin tight, well for what small amount of body it actually covered, and wasn't different shades of blue, obviously meant to look like the ocean. Her long blond hair was tumbling loose over her shoulders and was sprayed with some sort of glittered lotion, the same glittery substance that covered the rest of her body. Her eyes were outlines in a glittery blue and her lips were a bright red, strongly standing out form the rest of her outfit. The crowd just loved her and, as much as he tried, her district partner, who was dressed in a clear blue suit, was having a hard time keeping his eyes off her.

District 5 were also dressed quite similarly. The girl was wearing a long, white dress with yellow lightning bolts all over it and the boy was wearing a matching suit. I couldn't fail to notice that they were clutching tightly to each other's hands. It was nice to see some unity amongst district partners. Unlike my district.

District 6 was definitely a surprise. The girl looked strong in a short white dress and the boy, who I remembered feeling particularly sorry for because he had to leave behind his pregnant girlfriend, was a striking contrast dressed all in black. Their chariot was surrounded by a light grey mist, definitely something I'd never seen done before. I'm not sure how that all related to their transportation district, but I guess it had to in some way otherwise it wouldn't have been approved.

The District 7 girl looked naturally pretty in a brown, tree-like dress similar to mine. She completely took all the attention away from the poor boy standing besides her.

The pair from District 8 looked especially weird. It was like their stylists had decided to use over colour imaginable on one skin-hugging outfit. Well that's if they were even wearing an outfit. I suddenly wasn't too sure. Their expressions were too awkward.

The small girl from District 9 was dressed up to resemble an ear of corn, which to me looked incredibly odd. Who in their right mind would dress someone up to look like a piece of corn? I couldn't help noticing how good-looking her district partner was though. His brown hair was styled messily over his eyes and his stylist had strategically fitted him in an outfit which left his well defined chest and stomach bare.

My heart sank when I saw the girl from District 10 wave innocently up at the crowd. She had the face of an angel. I couldn't help but feel sorry for this poor girl, Shay I think her name was. She held absolutely no chance of winning the Games. She'd be lucky to make it out of the bloodbath alive. The Capitol was truly sick, forcing this little girl into a situation like this. A situation they came up with as a form of amusement! This tiny girl, with her clear blue eyes and straight, light brown hair, was going to die soon and they did nothing but support it. Like is all a big honour!

I didn't even glance at the tall boy besides her. I was transfixed on that little-angel faced girl.

And then it was our turn.

I felt the chariot lurch forward and we started to move, the horses pulling us closer and closer to the screaming crowd. Just like at the station, I did my best to ignore them. My mentor had completely given up on me trying to be nice. Seeder though was as chirpy as ever, waving enthusiastically at the crowd and even catching a flower that was thrown his way. His excitement was sickening and I hated him for it.

I snuck a look upwards at the large TV screens above us. Secretly, I was a bit interested to see what I looked like to the crowd. I was shocked at what I saw.

There was no denying that I looked beautiful. Ocilla had certainly done her job right. It was more my expression that interested me. Hard, cold and looking completely uninterested in what the crowd was up to. I looked strong, fierce even and definitely someone I would bet on in the Games. Without even knowing it, I'd given myself an image that the Capitol liked. No wonder my mentor allowed me to act this way! Agh, I was disgusted at myself.

Looking up at the screen again, I saw that it was showing the District 12 pair who I'd encountered earlier. The girl was dressed in a black, coal dusted tunic that flowed around her in thin, sheer layers which made it look like coal dust was floating around her. The end of her tunic glowed slightly, like the dying embers in a fire, and her fiery red hair was styled around her face, a striking contrast against the darkness of her outfit. The cheeky-looking boy was just dressed entirely in black, pieces of orange glitter splashed all over his outfit. I guess it did look kind of cool, but nothing compared to the girl besides him.

And then the long ride was over. The president stood up, said a few words of welcome and motioned us into the Training Centre directly in front of us. I was happy to leave the Capitol crowds. I just wanted to go to bed. But my day wasn't over yet.

My mentor, stylist and annoying prep team were all waiting for me just inside on the large doors of the Training Centre. Seeder greeted everyone enthusiastically, but I just stood there, not really caring about what was going on. Suddenly, I felt a prickling sensation on the back of my neck, a feeling I often get when I'm being watched.

It was the fierce-looking girl from District 2, the one whose brother got reaped too. She was standing with him now, looking slightly bored as he spoke to the District 1 boy. I guess that's why her attention wondered over to me; though I was a bit confused to why it was me she chose to stare at. A tap on the shoulder from her brother made her sharp green eyes leave mine, but not before she gave me a slightly approving nod. Her brother just stared blankly at me before turning back to his conversation. Well that was weird.

Soon after that we were ushered towards the elevator. We were grouped in with the pair from eight, Seeder chatting excitedly to them until they had to get off at their floor. God he was annoying.

I didn't wait for the tour of our floor of the Training Centre. I immediately locked myself in my room and flopped down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. The next day would be our first day of training. I definitely wasn't looking forward to it.

**From now on I'll be doing more than one POV per chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this one.**

**So, is that an alliance I see happening there? Lara and the Careers? What do you guys think? Will Lara have any allies at all?**

**Remember to check my profile for details about the sponsor system :)**

**Now that I've introduced some more tributes, are there any favourites yet? Let me know**

**Thanks for reading **


	13. Chapter 12: Training Day 1

**Braxton "Brax" Cross, District 10 (17)**

"Brax, are you up yet?" an innocent little voice sounded from the other side of my closed door. "Brax?"

"Mari?" I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I sat up in bed. "What are you doing up this early?"

"Uh, It's Shay," the little voice said awkwardly. "And I'm up because we have to be downstairs for training in ten minutes."

Training?

And then I remembered. I wasn't at home anymore. That wasn't my little sister, Mari, knocking on my door and telling me to wake up. It was Shay, the tiny twelve-year-old that was reaped, along with me, to partake in the Hunger Games.

"Brax?" she called again, her voice sounding concerned. "Are you okay?"

I sighed and hurled myself out of bed.

"Yeah, I'm alright, Shay," I called back. "I'll be out in a minute, okay? Don't leave without me."

"I'll get you some food so long."

I couldn't help but feel sad as I heard Shay's retreating footsteps down the passage. She was so much like my sister in many ways. She was so innocent, so pure and she didn't deserve all this that was happening to her. But even so, she stayed strong, always smiling and trying to make the best out of her bad situation. She hasn't cried once. I know Mari wouldn't have either.

After splashing my face with cold water from the bathroom, I quickly dressed into my red and black training uniform and opened my bedroom door to meet Shay. She was standing outside, holding an apple between her little fingers.

"Here," she said, smiling as she handed it over. "You can eat on the way. We're going to be late if we don't get a move on."

"Thanks," I said, taking the apple. "Alright then. Let's get going."

We waited about five minutes for the elevator to arrive and, when it finally stopped at our floor, the doors slid open to reveal the pair of tributes from District 11; the dark skinned, athletic girl and her cheerful district partner.

"Morning," said Shay happily as we walked into the elevator. "You guys ready for training?"

"No," muttered the eleven boy. "I'm shit scared."

Shay laughed, ignoring his swearing. "And you, Lara?"

The District 11 girl looked up, clearly surprised that Shay had remembered her name.

"I guess so," she said quietly, her dark eyes looking calmly into Shay's. "You?"

Shay laughed again. "Honestly, I have no idea what I'm going to do in there."

This clearly wasn't the answer Lara was hoping for. She looked a bit upset and trained her eyes on the elevator floor again. She was the first one out when the doors opened on the ground floor.

"After you," I said to Shay, nodding at her to walk.

"Thanks," she said with a smile, hopping out. It was amazing how much energy that girl had so early in the morning. Well okay, it was passed ten, but that was still early for me.

The Training Room was like nothing I'd ever seen before. It was larger than my entire house, filled with an endless supply of training equipment, weapons and survival stations. I felt so tiny walking in, especially when everyone else inside turned around to look our way. I felt my face burn as I took my place in the back of the crowd of tributes. I hated being stared at.

"Now that we're all here," said a cold voice above me, "let's get started."

I looked up to see a woman, maybe in her mid-thirties, standing on a platform and looking sternly down at us. I disliked her immediately.

"My name is Moriah Denim," she continued, glaring as she looked us over, "and I'll be over seeing your training here in the Training Centre." She paused, as if daring someone to speak. When no one did, she went on, "You will all train in here for three days before being send into the arena where only one of you in this room will come out alive." She smiled meanly. "So I suggest paying attention to your instructors and try to learn something." She nodded towards where the instructors were standing. "Don't underestimate survival skills," she warned, her voice sounding bored. "Weapons won't help you when you're freezing or starving in the arena. The rules here are simple, show up here for training every morning and don't fight with the other tributes. You'll have plenty of time for that once you get to the arena." A few tributes near the front laughed at this. Careers no doubt. Moriah looked pleased with that reaction. "Okay, go train," she instructed, waving her hands at us. "And may the odds be ever in your favour."

I cringed. I was getting pretty sick of hearing that.

The Careers wasted no time getting to the weapons stations and soon the District 1 boy was decapitating training dummies left, right and centre as the others cheered him on. The other tributes stood and watched for a bit, looking slightly sickened, before moving off to different stations, most of them with their district partner.

I looked down at Shay. "What are you going to do first?" I asked, trying not to look at the Careers.

"I think I'll head over to the survival stations," she replied thoughtfully. "You?"

"I want to try out those spears over there," I pointed to a station on the other side of the room. "I guess I'll see you later then."

Shay gave me a quick hug and rushed off to do some fire building. I sighed. She was so optimistic.

I wasn't at the spear station very long before I felt I sharp tap on my shoulder. Turning, I saw the pair of tributes from District 6 standing behind me, both with broad smiles on their faces.

"Hi," said the girl, shoving out her hand so that I could shake it, "I'm Lexi and this is Vitz." The red-haired boy besides her nodded. "What's your name?"

"Braxton," I said, surprised, "but everyone calls me Brax."

"So Brax," said Lexi, beaming at me and picking up a spear. "You know much about spears?"

I shrugged. "I work with pitchforks a lot back home. How much different can a spear be?" I threw my spear at a nearby dummy. I was very surprised when I hit it, piercing it right through the stomach.

"Apparently not much," said Lexi, clearly impressed with my throwing. "Mine if we train with you?"

I grinned, glad that someone was taking an interest in me. "Go ahead," I answered, handing a spear to Vitz as Lexi took up a place before another dummy. "I'd love the company."

Maybe I'd have some allies after all.

**Sierra Golding, District 2 (16)**

"So just what can you do?" I asked, glaring down at the tiny District 1 girl. "You'd better be impressive if you want a chance of staying in with us. Otherwise you die first."

"Sierra..." said Nic warningly, taking hold of my arm. "Be nice."

I shook him off and rounded on the girl again.

"Shut it, Nic," I snapped, not taking my eyes off the girl. "Well?" I demanded. "Show me?"

"I'd be careful, if I were you," said Seni lazily from behind his district partner. "Her father's the victor of the 24th Games. You know, the one with all the maces?"

I did know that Game, but I wasn't going to admit it with all the others watching me.

"I don't recall it," I said dismissively. "So come on District 1, show us what you've got. I can't be the only one wondering about you here."

By the expression on the faces of the rest of my alliance, I knew I was right. I smirked. This should be good.

The girl, Maddie I think her name was, reached for a bow from one of the nearby racks. Stringing an arrow, she pulled the string tight, aiming for a target about fifteen meters away. She released and a second later there was a thud at the arrow hit the target. Right in the middle of the red bull's-eye.

The annoying District 4 girl burst into applause.

"That was _amazing_ Maddie!" she exclaimed, clutching Seni's arm as she bounced up and down. "I could never make that shot!"

Well I wasn't surprised. That girl was dumber than a pile of bricks.

"Naomi's right," agreed Nic, looking impressed. "Nice shot."

I glared at my brother as he patted Maddie on the head. Yeah, the kid had good aim, but Nic was supposed to be on my side here! He shouldn't be complimenting her. If I didn't do something fast, I was going to end up looking stupid.

I grabbed the bow out of Maddie's hands and quickly strung another arrow. I released and the arrow sailed through the air, embedding itself in the back of Maddie's first arrow. A direct hit.

"Not that's what I call a shot," said the District 4 boy, whistling. "Wow."

I smiled fakely at Maddie as I handed her back the bow. "And that's how it's done."

Maddie just looked up at me calmly, like my display for perfect aim hadn't phased her one bit. It pissed me off, but I knew I had to keep my mouth shut for a change. The other Careers seemed to like her and I didn't want to get on their bad side. I needed a strong alliance if I was going to win.

"Come Nic," I hissed through clenched teeth, grabbing my brother's upper arm and digging in my nails. "They're some wooden swords over there. Let's go spar."

Nic winced as my long nails cut into his flesh. "I guess I'll see you guys at lunch then," he sighed to the others as I dragged him away. "Save us a good table."

"I see who wears the pants in this relationship!" Seni taunted after us. "How does it feel being bossed around by your little sister, Nicolai?" We both ignored him, even though I wanted to scream when I heard another one of Naomi's annoying little giggles. She'll be the first to go when the Career pack breaks up; I'll make sure of that.

Nic grabbed a wooden sword off the wall and threw it to me. I caught it neatly and grasped it in both hands, turning to face him and ready to strike. But Nic was faster. I had barely enough time to block his attack as he lunged at me, aiming for my head. I parried the blow and thrust forward, but Nic saw it coming and reflected it easily. Nic has always been a master with a sword, much better than I could ever hope to be. Not that I admitted it, of course.

I lashed out with my sword again, trying to distract him while I aimed a powerful kick towards his stomach. I nearly got him too, but at the last minute, Nic grabbed my foot and gave it a mighty twist. I all but lost my balance, thrashing around in his grip until he was forced to let me go. I didn't waste any time. I jumped right back into the fight.

I was vaguely aware of the instructors watching us as we sparred, but they made no attempt to enforce their "no fighting with other tributes" rule. I guess they thought it was safe to let us spar together since we were actually brother and sister. Maybe they even felt sorry for us. After all, this was the first time a pair of siblings was forced to compete against each other.

Soon Nic and I were face-to-face, our swords pushed together in an attempt to get the other one to back off. Neither of us were going anywhere anytime soon, so I decided to use this opportunity to have a private word with my brother.

"What do you think of the others?" I asked, panting slightly.

Nic looked indifferent. "Relatively strong bunch," he replied, narrowing his eyes at the effort of trying to dislodge my sword. "Seni seems like the typical Career type. I'm not quite sure where to place the others though. Maddie's quite talented, but why would someone her age volunteer? Wouldn't it make more sense for her to do it when she's older and has more experience?" He pushed harder against my sword, but I wasn't backing down. It takes way more than they to get me to quit. "I don't know much about Lance," he carried on, still pushing. "He hasn't really said much since training began. And I think we need to watch out for Naomi. There's definitely something off about her. I don't like it."

I scoffed. "Uh, maybe she's just stupid?" I suggested sarcastically. "That ever cross your mind?"

"No Career is that stupid," he replied darkly, nodding his head towards where Seni was trying to teach Naomi to use a spear. "Does she really expect us to believe that someone from the fishing district has no idea how to even hold a spear?"

"You think too much," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "In my opinion, she's one of those giggly, self-obsessed rich kids, like the girls you usually get from District 1."

With that, I struck out with my foot again, this time catching Nic on the skin. He staggered backwards, but somehow still managed to deflect my continuous attacks. I was actually a bit jealous.

Sparring with Nic reminded me of training with him back home. But we weren't home. We were in the Capitol, waiting to be taken to the arena where one of us will die. And I was going to make sure that it wasn't going to be me.

**Capri Arello, District 7 (17)**

Even before I arrived at the training room, I'd decided that I wanted to go through my first day of training alone. I really didn't need any distractions and I certainly didn't need any "friends". The more I knew about the twenty-three people around me, the harder it would be to kill them and they all had to die if I wanted to make it back home.

Rowan was an exception. We planned our alliance while we were still on the train to the Capitol, but I can't help thinking that it was all one big mistake. Rowan was a nice guy. I just hoped someone else would take him out so I wouldn't have to.

As I thought this, I looked up at my district partner as he practiced throwing axes at targets. He hadn't got a bull's-eye yet, but he was still pretty good. I had decided to stay away from the axe throwing station. Things would probably be better for me if the others didn't know what I could do.

So instead, I started off at the edible plants station, attempting to identify something I could actually eat while trying to ignore the two Careers sparring a few stations to my left. That was actually much harder than it sounded. Every time I heard the clash of their wooden swords, I wanted to wince and move as far away as possible. There's no denying that the two were highly skilled. I planned to stay well away from them in the Games.

I looked down at the three red berries in my hands. Two of them were toxic and the other was delicious, something that would be considered a delicacy back home. But which one was it? They all looked so alike! Making my decision, I picked up the berry on the far right, lifting it up towards my mouth...

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I jumped at the soft voice in my ear, dropping the berries in my hand and knocking a few more off the table, spilling them across the floor.

"Sorry," the voice chuckled, "did I scare you?"

The owner was standing so close behind me. I could feel his warm breath on the side of my face. I quickly whirled around and found myself face-to-face with the boy from District 1. Well almost face-to-face. He was at least a head taller than me.

"You didn't scare me," I said coldly, turning back to the plants on the table. "Now if you don't mind, I'm trying to concentrate."

"I can help you with that," he purred, placing his hand on the table and resting his arm against mine. "I'm pretty good, you know."

I moved away. I really didn't like him standing so close.

"I think I have it now, thanks," I said as politely as I could. "Maybe another time."

The boy grabbed my arm and pulled me around to face him. He was so close now; his face barely inches from mine. I could see every detail of his beautiful eyes, eyes I first thought to be light blue, but now I could see the tiny violet ring around the iris...God, what was going on inside my head? Yes, the boy had amazing looks, no doubt about that. Like really no doubt about that...Ahh I was doing it again! I needed to get him away from me, quickly.

I placed both hands on his chest and shoved him as hard as I could. He clearly wasn't expecting this and he staggered backwards, his gorgeous eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"Aw, come on now," he said slowly, pouting slightly as he moved closer again. "Don't be a spoil sport. I'm just trying to h-"

"-Seni!"

A sharp voice cut off the rest of Seni's sentence. Looking past him, I saw the boy from District 4 walking up to us, an annoyed expression on usually serious face.

"What?" Seni snapped irritably. "I'm a little busy right now."

"I think she's had enough," the boy from 4 replied, crossing his arms and glaring at his fellow Career. "And Naomi's complaints about this are really getting on my nerves."

Seni glared right back. "I was just leaving," he said, pushing past me. "She wasn't much fun anyway. I don't recommend you try your luck with her."

District 4 sighed as he watched Seni stalk off. Surprisingly, he made to attempt to follow.

"I'm sorry about that," he apologised, his golden eyes looking sincere. "Seni certainly has no self control."

"I don't need your apologies," I snapped. "You're just as bad as him." I knew it was a bit harsh, but I honestly didn't care, no matter how reproachful the boy before me looked. "Just leave me alone."

A bell went as I pushed past the boy, calling us all to the dining room for lunch. Just as well, because I had no idea what station I was going to next. Thankful that I finally had a destination, I grabbed a tray of food and dropped it down on the table Rowan had reserved for us. I wasn't in a great mood.

"Well don't you look happy," said Rowan with raised eyebrows. "Rough day?"

"Stupid Careers," I muttered, taking a bite out of some sort of nutty bread. "They think they're so much better than everyone else."

Rowan sighed. "I guess that's usually how things go around here," he said, glancing over at Careers' table. "I don't blame them though. They are a lot better than most of us."

I glared at him. "Not helping."

We ate in silence after that. That was quite smart on Rowan's part. I really wasn't in the mood for small talk.

"Hey, District 11!"

The shout was so loud that everyone in the dining room looked up, turning their heads to get a better look at where it came from. Sierra was leading back in her chair at the Careers' table, her eyes fixed on the tall, athletic-looking girl from District 11.

"Come sit with us!

It was more like an order than a request, but, either way; it still annoyed the crap out of me. Bloody Careers. They think they're so great, that they can just walk all over the rest of us and then pick out the strongest to join their little pack. God, I hated them so much.

The District 11 girl, Lara I think, looked up from her food, a slightly amused look in her dark eyes.

"No thanks," she said politely and casually continued to eat, like the whole thing had never happened.

I snorted into my food. That was excellent! Well, not for Lara since she's sure to be targeted early for that, but it certainly was entertaining. Especially the look on Sierra's face when she got rejected. Like someone had punched her squarely in the jaw. Her District partner was stupid enough to laugh at this, but a well aimed punch from Sierra shut him up quickly. The others all looked too surprised to say anything.

I looked around the dining room and caught the eye of the red haired girl from District 12. She smiled at me and rolled her eyes at the Career's table, where Sierra was clearly trying to laugh off her rejection. Trying, but failing. She looked like she was about to murder somebody. Well she was certainly going to get her wish in a few days.

There was a loud scraping of chairs from a nearby table, signalling that some of the other tributes were getting up. I turned my head slightly and saw it was Lexi, the girl from District 6, and the two boys who had been following her around all day. Lunch trays in hand, they walked over to the table where Lara was sitting alone, Lexi sitting down besides her and the two boys opposite them. Lexi was speaking, but my table was too far away from them to hear what she was saying. Lara's reply was as clear as day.

"What makes you think that I would ever want to form an alliance with you?" she demanded, her voice raised. "In fact," she stood up so suddenly that her chair was knocked backwards. "What makes _any_ of you think that I would want to team up with you?" She was shouting now, addressing the whole dining room. "I want to be alone. Got it?"

With that, she grabbed her tray of food and left the table, slamming in down at the table where the little District 10 girl was eating by herself. Poor thing. She looked frightened as hell to have Lara sitting opposite from her.

"Well that was interesting," said Rowan dryly. "I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of her."

"And that's exactly why I don't want an alliance," I said, still looking over to where Lara and the little girl were eating.

"Hey," he replied, sounding hurt, "we're allies. Remember?"

"Oh, right."

We finished our meal in silence. When the bell went signalling us to get back to training, Rowan still seemed upset. In my opinion, he really needed to grow up.

**So that's it for the first day of training! What did you think? Any favourite characters yet? If so, check out the poll on my profile to vote! Oh and while you're there, have a look at the details for my sponsor system. Thinking someone else will sponsor your favourite tribute? Don't. If you do, their death could be on your hands.**

**Another big thank you to everyone who's reviewed and favourited Like I said before, you guys make me want to keep writing. On that note, I think it's a bit depressing that the people who actually submitted their characters to me have stopped sending me reviews. A note just to stay you're still there would be nice, if you don't mind too much. **

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter **


	14. Chapter 13: Training Day 2

**Zachary Swift, District 5 (14)**

"No Zach," Evelyn said patiently in my ear for about the fifth time this morning. "You want to mix in more green, remember?"

Honestly, I didn't remember, but I wasn't about to tell her that. We've been standing at the camouflage table for over an hour now and I still hadn't managed to grasp the basics of the art. The instructor had tried, but quickly grew annoyed at my lack of talent and told Evelyn to take over my lesson. Evelyn was actually pretty good. I had no idea how she'd managed to pick it up so quickly, you could even call me a little jealous, but I was glad either way. Her talent would definitely be of use to us in the Games. Hiding out was our basic plan for the moment. She'd also aced the edible plant test, a test which took me at least three attempts to pass and even then I still wasn't sure that I knew enough to keep myself alive. Well at least I'd have Evelyn. There's no way I would starve with her around.

I sighed, putting my murky mixture of paint down besides Evelyn hand.

"I give up. Clearly I'm not as good at this as you are."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she said with a grin. "I know you can do this, Zach."

Her encouraging words made my heart flutter slightly and I reached for the paint again. Evelyn was honestly like no other girl I'd ever met before. There was just something about her that was different, something that gave me a safe, comfortable feeling whenever I was around her. I've always known who she was, ever since out first day of school where I pulled her out of the mud and gave her that flower. I don't think she remembers the incident though. She hasn't mentioned it, even though we've spent plenty of time alone since coming to the Capitol. Maybe she doesn't remember the boy who helped her that day? Or maybe she doesn't know it was me? I don't think I told her my name. In fact, I don't think I'd actually spoken to her since that day, right up until we were reaped. I have no idea why I'd never spoken to her until now. It's not like I hadn't seen her at school; she was in my class. Was I afraid to speak to her? I've always liked her; she's just always seemed so sweet, so optimistic about everything. Sure she wasn't the best looking girl in our year, but there definitely was something appealing about her slender build and pretty hazel eyes. I really regret not getting to know her before we were thrust into this situation. It's too late now.

"Zach?"

I jumped slightly as Evelyn's voice broke me from my thoughts. I scolded myself inwardly. I must not get attached to this girl. Odds are, we're both going to be dead within the week. I can't get attached, I'd been telling myself that ever since I left home. But why is it so hard not to?

"Sorry," I said quickly, smearing some more green paint into the small glass bowl I was mixing in. "I got distracted."

"With?"

I sneaked a glance her way, watching her twist the ends of her long ponytail between her fingers as I mixed in the green paint.

"Oh, you know, just random things."

Evelyn laughed. "Ooh, secretive are we?" She moved closer and dipped a finger into my paint. "But we both know you're going to tell me, one way or another." She reached towards my face and smeared the green paint across my cheek. The paint was cold at first and smelt a bit funny, but my heart still leapt as I felt her soft hand make contact with my skin. I liked her touch way more than I should and I felt guilty for it. I can't let myself develop feelings for this girl, not now that she's soon going to be taken away from me.

"There," she said proudly, rubbing the mixture into my skin. "If you hid up a tree now, there's no way someone would see you!"

"Oh yeah?" I laughed, grabbing her painted hand and pushing it towards her face. "I don't think you'd be hidden very well. Here, let me help you."

"No Zach!" she squealed, twisting away from me. "It stinks!"

"Don't worry, you hardly smell it when it's-huh?"

I broke off suddenly, releasing Evelyn's arm as I felt something hit against my shoes. Looking down, I saw a small, wooden ball resting besides my left foot.

"Where did that come from?" I asked her, confused.

She shrugged and looked around.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

A girl, maybe about a year younger than me, was running towards us, her hands clasped over her mouth in a look of complete and utter shock. She was quite skinny, with long, sandy coloured hair and big brown eyes, eyes which looked up at us in fear as she bent to retrieve her little wooden ball.

"I'm so sorry," she said again, her voice full of panic. "It just slipped out of my hand. I'm forever dropping it. Sorry to disturb you."

She quickly turned to leave, but Evelyn grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Wait," she said kindly, smiling at the girl. "I'm Evelyn and this is Zach. We're from District 5. What's your name?"

The girl looked up at us fearfully through her long lashed, but another encouraging smile from Evelyn prompted her to answer.

"Aluma," she said. "I'm from District 9."

"Nice to meet you," I said happily, offering her my hand to shake. "What's with the ball?"

"It's my district token," Aluma explained, her expression relaxing slightly. "My brother made it for our cat a few years back, but I kind of took a liking to it. I don't really know why, it's just sort of comforting to hold."

"It's really well crafted," observed Evelyn. "So smooth. Your brother must have quite a talent with wood work."

Aluma smiled at this. "He's one of the best in the district," she said with pride. "People are always asking him to make things for them." She paused, looking over at the mixtures of paint on the table before us. "Do you know much about camouflage? I really don't."

Evelyn smiled again and guided Aluma's hand to some green paint on the table.

"It's really easy," she explained, showing her which paints to mix. "Much easier than Zach makes it look."

"Hey!"

Both girls laughed at my protest and continued to mix the paint, adding bits of leaves to the mixture. Aluma caught on pretty fast, much faster than I could ever hope to. So I just stood awkwardly behind them, watching their progress as I fiddled with the wooden ball Aluma handed to me to hold while she mixed the paint. She was right; it was rather comforting to hold. Maybe I should get one for myself.

"There you are!"

We all looked up to see a tall, muscular boy of about sixteen walking briskly towards us. My heart sank a bit at the sight of him. There were so many strong tributes this year, and they weren't just from the Career districts either. The District 6 pair was unusually strong, and so were the girl from 11 and this boy from 9. The boy who was walking towards us. Against all these strong contenders, Ev and I really didn't stand much of a chance.

Aluma beamed up at the boy. "Oh, hi Lee," she said happily. "Evelyn and Zach were just showing me some camouflage techniques." She held up her green-stained hand. "Isn't this cool?"

"It most certainly it," grinned Lee, ruffling Aluma's sandy hair. "Mine if I join the lesson?"

"Not at all," insisted Evelyn, handing Lee some green paint, nearly the same colour as his deep green eyes. "I'm glad you're taking an interest in camouflage. Most people tend to over look it."

"They just don't understand the importance of it," Lee replied as he began to mix the paints together. "But we'll be the ones laughing when we're all hidden and they can't find us, won't we?"

Would we? I can't imagine someone like Lee wanting to team up with some kids like Evelyn and me. What could he possible gain from allying himself with us? He's pretty built, and doesn't seem too modest about it either. His black shirt looked about three sizes to small for him, showing off his well defined stomach nicely. He was clearly strong, quite good-looking too. He'd have no trouble pulling in sponsors. Looks like he had no trouble pulling in girls either. Naomi was, quite obviously, eying him from across the room. I bet most of the girls in here are looking at him half the time.

"So Aluma's ball just rolled over here?"

My attention snapped back to the table where Evelyn and Lee were chatting happily, laughing at Aluma's clumsiness. I was surprised to find that I was actually feeling a little jealous. Why though, I had no idea. I'd only really known Evelyn for a few days, so why was I feeling this way? Was it because of how the guy looked, or maybe how comfortable she seemed in his company? They were getting along really well. Too well for my liking.

I rejoined the conversation as Evelyn took out her district token, a silver necklace with a small lock and key charm on the end, and explained the story behind it. Lee listened intently, nodding and smiling at all the right times. He most certainly was charming.

"Want to see mine?" he asked her as she finished.

"Yeah sure," was her eager reply.

Lee reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, bronze coin. Smiling, he handed it to Evelyn.

"Read the back."

Evelyn looked down at the shiny coin and read aloud, "Lee, Rye and Maize."

"Is Maize your girlfriend?"

The question was out of my mouth before I could stop myself. Did I really just blurt that out? Ah that was so embarrassing. What the hell was I thinking? What did it matter if he had a girlfriend? Was I really that jealous of his and Evelyn's obvious connection? I thought I wasn't going to get attached to her? It shouldn't matter if she gets along with another, better looking, guy.

Lee laughed as Evelyn handed back the coin. "No," he said, "she's my best friend. Not my type." I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

"So what is your type then?" Evelyn teased. "How about that Naomi girl? She's real pretty."

Lee laughed again. "Well actually, she's not my type either. Truth is, I don't actually like girls like that."

"Girls like Naomi? Yeah, I guess she's a little dumb."

"No, I mean I don't like girls in general. Well I do like girls, but not in the way guys are supposed to." Wait, what? "Remember reading the name 'Rye' on my coin? Well, he's actually my boyfriend."

Boyfriend? Lee was...gay? Well that was unexpected. Especially the way he'd said it. So calmly, with such ease, like it wasn't a big deal that he preferred guys to girls. Not that it was a big deal anyway. I'd just never met anyone so open about it before.

"Is he hot?"

I looked at Evelyn is surprise. Lee's confession hadn't phased her one bit. She was still mixing her paints, talking to Lee casually as if they were discussing the weather. I guess I'd misinterpreted her friendliness. Looks like she wasn't in to him after all.

"Well just look at me," Lee joked, pointing to his well defined abs. "Do you think I'd go for someone who wasn't?"

My mood felt considerably lighter after that. Lighter, but confused. Just what exactly was going on inside my head? I couldn't afford to develop any soft of feelings towards Evelyn, especially now that we were about to go into the Games. She just made it so hard not to.

**Angela Hopeful Winters, District 8 (13)**

"Have you even _held _a knife before," sneered a voice behind me, startling me and causing me to drop the knife that I barely had a grip on. The voice sniggered. "I guess not then."

Glaring, I spun around on my heel to face the direction that the sneering voice was coming from. Behind me stood the spiky-haired kid from District 12, his arms crossed over his chest and an annoyingly cheeky look on his face. He had no idea of how much I wanted to punch that little smirk right off his pointed face.

"You talk very big for so someone so tiny," I retorted, narrowing my eyes at the boy. "And for your information, I know how to use a knife. Come any closer and you'll find out just how well I can use it!"

Well okay, that was a lie. The boy was right; I'd never held a knife before, let alone used one, but I certainly wasn't going to let him know that.

"What to you mean 'tiny'?" demanded the boy, taking a step forward. Wow, the rest of my sentence must have gone right over his stupid little head since he was still fixated on me calling him small. "I'm taller than you are!"

"Yeah, but not by much," I pointed out angry, also taking a step forward so that our faces were barely inches apart. "Plus, I'm already short for my age, which makes you doubly short, Spiky-Hair."

"'Spiky-Hair'?" the boy hissed, his eye twitching slightly. "'Spiky-Hair?' What kind of a name is that? You're lucky that there's this no fighting with other tributes rule or I'd punch you right in the nose!"

"Oh, is Spiky-Hair scared of a little rule?"

"Stop calling me Spiky-Hair!"

I smirked and took a step back, folding me arms.

"Well Spike," I said, glaring right into his brown eyes, "I have things to do today, so if you're finished here I'd appreciate it if you moved along. I'm busy."

"Busy with what?" taunted the boy. "Dropping knives on the floor? And you can't call me Spike either! I'm Killian."

"Like I care," I muttered, turning away and back to the knife station. "Now unless you have anything useful to say, go away."

Killian didn't move. Instead, he folded his arms again and watched me pick up another knife.

"You're holding it wrong," he said in a bratty voice, sneering at me again. "Seriously, don't you know anything?"

"Shut up, what do you know anyway? You're from District 12. No one knows anything there."

Killian smirked again. "We know more than you think," he said smartly. "Here, watch this. I bet this will change your mind about us dumb District 12 kids." I nodded towards where the District 1 boy was teaching the District 4 girl how to throw a knife over at the target station. "See those two Careers over there?"

I felt a knot grow in my stomach. As much as I disliked Killian, annoying the Careers is definitely not a good idea. But instead of saying anything, I just nodded.

"Well I'm going to shake things up with them a little."

"You're a moron," I said, turning away. "Don't be stupid, Seni will kill you if you ever did anything to mess with them."

"Aw, you're scared for me."

And my caring moment was gone.

"No," I snapped, facing Killian again, "by all means, get yourself killed. It will be fun to watch."

Killian just winked and, turning slowly, cautiously walked towards the target station. I tried my best not to stare, but I really couldn't help it. I was actually quite interested to see what the little idiot was going to do.

**Naomi Sakura, District 4 (17)**

Acting like a brainless blond all day is actually quite tiring. You have to laugh at every hint of a joke, use any excuse to get excited about something and, of course, flirt with just about any guy that comes near you. Unfortunately for me, that guy was usually Seni. It's not like he's ugly, he's quite the opposite, it's just that his advances were starting to get on my nerves. But I was too far into my character to drop it now. I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate it if I suddenly became this malicious killer in the middle of training. I was saving that for the Games. Oh I couldn't wait to stab some of these people through he heart. Especially Sierra.

The problem with Sierra is that the two of us are too alike. Of course, she doesn't think that as I'm pretending to be a complete air head, but I can see it as plain as day. She's mean, like me. She doesn't seem to have any problems with killing, like me. She's manipulative, like me. And she doesn't seem the type to feel guilt. Just like me. She's a danger to my survival and I was going to stab her in the back the first chance I could get.

We were about half way into our second day of training and I was already bored. I was just itching to try out some of the weapons, itching to show to the others what I could really do. But I held back. I needed them to think I was weak if I wanted my plan to work. Even if that meant purposefully coming across at pathetic.

"Want me to help you with the spears again?"

Ah, of course. I know it was only a matter of time before Seni would seek me out again. And there he was behind me, his hand brushing against the small of my back as he spoke into my ear. He was starting to get quite annoying, but I didn't let my irritation show. I had to stick to my character.

I pretended to jump and I turned into him, placing my one hand on his upper arm.

"But we did that yesterday," I said, pouting slightly. "Why don't we try knives today?"

I was actually pretty good with knives. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to practice with a weapon that I could use, but I was just so bored. I couldn't help it. Hopefully I would be able to hide my skill.

"Yeah sure," said Seni with a shrug. "You ever used one before?"

"My sister's pretty good with them. She showed me once."

That was sort of true. I'd grown up in a household with six other sisters, five older than me and one, Hina, younger. My eldest sister, Pearl, had been chosen to train in the Career academy when she was twelve. She was an obvious choice, mean, cunning and vicious, kind of like me when I let that part of my personality show. A lot like Sierra too. Maybe the reason I disliked Sierra so much wasn't because she was so much like me. Maybe it was because she reminded me of my sister.

Pearl had tormented me for as long as I could remember. I don't know why she chose to target me; that's something I still don't understand. Maybe she thought I needed some toughening up. Well it certainly worked; I hadn't always been a manipulative bitch. When Pearl first started to learn how to throw knives, she use to use me for target practice. I still have the scar on my upper back to prove it.

"You go first," said Seni, handing me a throwing knife. "Let's see what you've got."

I chucked the knife at the target a few feet away, just missing it. On purpose, of course. I started to giggle hysterically.

"Oh, my bad!" I laughed, clutching at Seni's arm. "Guess my sister wasn't a very good teacher."

Seni just smirked. "Lucky for you, I am."

Not taking his eyes off me, he reached behind him to grab his knife. This knife was his favourite in the training centre and he'd been carrying it around since we arrived. It was quite stupid actually.

I knew the knife wasn't there even before he shouted shouting. I'd seen the blond kid sneak up behind him and grab it when he thought no one was looking. I guess I could have shouted out and alerted Seni to the fact that the kid was there, but I was a bit curious to see what the boy was planning on doing with the knife. So I kept quite. Plus, I was bored and I thought Seni's reaction would be entertaining. And it most certainly was.

"Where the hell it my knife?" he shouted, his head snapping around as he looked for tributes with guilty expressions on their faces. "Who the hell took my knife?"

"Maybe it was that boy over there," I suggested dumbly, pointing to a nearby tribute. "He's the closest."

Without another word, Seni strode over to the unsuspecting boy, grabbing him by the shoulders and started to shake him violently. Over-reaction much.

Luckily for the boy, the Peacekeeper had started to close in, and Seni released him pretty quickly. Pity, I would have liked to see what he would do next. Well I guess I'll have to wait for the Games. They'd be plenty of killing then.

"When I find out who took my knife," Seni shouted angrily, causing all the other tributes in the room to turn and stare at him. "You'll be the first to die in the arena! Just you wait!"

God, it's just a knife. Get over it.

**Lexus "Lexi" Annette Deryl, District 6 (15)**

"So that's it? That's your master plan?"

Vitz, Brax and I were sitting on a platform near the ceiling of the training centre, discussing our plans for the Games. It was actually a pretty good spot; we had a good view of every tribute from our ledge and therefore had a good idea of what each tribute was capable of. The platform wasn't even hard to get to, just a quick climb up the climbing wall and across some beams near the ceiling. Not much work at all, those Brax did look a little tired after.

"What do you mean 'so that's it'?" I asked, put out. "It's brilliant!"

"I don't know," admitted Brax, avoiding my eyes. "Don't you think hunting down the Careers is a little risky?"

"Yeah," agreed Vitz, "I'm all for turning the tables on them, but don't forget how highly trained they are. They could take us out in a second."

I glared at them. "First of all," I said, trying to keep my voice even, "everything about these Games are 'risky' so don't start pulling that crap on me. Secondly, if we don't hunt them, they'll be the ones hunting us. I don't think any of us like that idea much." The boys' identical looks of dismay proved I was right. "Look," I continued, "I know they've been trained, but no one ever goes after the Careers. They won't be expecting an attack! We can over power them while they're still trying to work out what's going on. Plus, we won't be alone. More people will join our alliance."

"Yeah, 'cause that worked out so well with Lara."

My eyes narrowed at Vitz's sarcastic tone. "Well do you have any suggestions to who we should ask?"

"Who said I was going along with this stupid idea?"

"I don't know Vitz," said Brax slowly. "It actually sounds kind of smart. She's right; it's either us being hunted, or them. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be hunted."

I beamed at him. "Thank you Brax," I said happily. "See Vitz, my plan could work after all."

"I guess," sighed Vitz, "but I still think it's a bit risky."

My reply was drowned out by an angry shout from below. The District 1 boy was causing quite a scene, shouting and grabbing nearby tributes, demanding his knife back. From our spot near the ceiling, I could just make out the spiky-haired blond boy from District 12 sneaking away, slipping a shiny object into his sleeve. It had to be District 1's knife.

"Now that's what I call risky," murmured Brax, watching the blond kid. "Just grabbing the knife like that. Maybe we should ask him to join us."

I shook my head. "I find that kid really annoying," I admitted. "He'd drive me crazy in an alliance. Plus he doesn't seem to have any talent with weapons. We can't take just anyone, you know! We need some more strong people to join us."

"Like who?"

I turned my head away from the boys to look around the training room. My eyes lingered on the blond District 7 girl for a few seconds before looking away. I know she didn't like the Careers, I'd seen her arguing with the boys from Districts 1 and 4 yesterday, but she didn't seem like the type to form an alliance. She hadn't made any efforts to since we got here. The girl from 12 looked pretty strong too, but she was always with her annoying kid of a district partner and I really didn't want to include him too. Much too annoying. I watched the boy from District 11 for a few seconds. He was over at the climbing ropes, pulling his way up towards the ceiling. I had to admire his strength; he could be a potential ally. And then he fell. Okay, scratch that. He won't do after all.

Disappointed, I looked away from the boy on the ground and my eyes wondered over to the camouflage station, where a group of four tributes were talking and laughing together as they mixed different coloured paints. Three of them looked fairly average, but one of them caught my eyes. The boy from District 9.

"Him," I said, nodding towards the camouflage station. "That tall boy with the dark hair."

"Looks like he's already found himself an alliance," observed Brax, squinting at the group by the table. "He seems quite happy there too. It would be hard to get him to leave."

He was right, the boy was looking happy. But I wasn't going to give up. I wanted him as part of my alliance. I needed him if we wanted some chance of taking down the Careers.

"We can invite all of them," I said suddenly, sitting up straighter. "That other boy does actually look pretty strong and his district partner looks quite smart. They could definitely help us. I'm not sure about that other girl though. She's so small."

"I don't think the others would abandon her for us," said Vitz darkly. "They seem to like her a lot."

I sighed. "I guess we have no choice but to take her. And I know she won't deny our invitation. We can offer her a lot of protection."

"You never know," said Brax, raising his eyebrows at me, "she might be tougher than you think."

I swung my legs over the side of the platform. "I hope so," I replied, starting to descend. "Come on; let's go ask them before lunch. We need to start planning out attack as soon as possible."

I was already half way down by the time the others started to climb. I was glad; I needed some time to think. I knew my plan would work, it was too clever not to. I was just a bit scared of what would happen after. I was sure that the Careers would waste no time hunting down the weaker tributes and killing them off, so once we killed the Careers, there wouldn't be very many tributes left in the Game. It would just be my alliance and, hopefully, a few other tributes hiding somewhere. That meant that I would be left with some strong tributes to face, namely Vitz, Brax and that District 9 boy. I really liked Vitz and didn't want to kill him, but would he think twice about killing me. I doubt it. He has a family to get back to. His child needs him. But I needed my family too.

I guess the Games will only really start when my alliance breaks up.

**Killian Tragster, District 12 (13)**

"Move Vee, move!"

I tried to run past my confused district partner, but I wasn't fast enough. Her hand shot out and grabbed me by the back of my collar, dragging my backwards.

"And just where are you going," she ask sceptically, not releasing my shirt.

A shout from the other end of the training centre answered her question for her.

"Who the hell took my knife?"

It was Seni, the boy from District 1, and wow did he sound angry. I twisted my head around and watched him grab a nearby tribute, from District 3 I think, by the shoulders and start to shake him. The surrounding Peacekeepers started to move in on him, but Seni had already released the boy. He was still fuming. Everyone else in the room was watching him now, which made him even angrier. As much as I was enjoying this, I still wanted to put as much distance between myself and the angry boy as possible. I didn't want to think about what he'd do to me if he found out that I was the one who's taken his knife.

I smiled sheepishly up at Vee and revealed the knife that was tucked into my sleeve. She whitened slightly.

"You're right," she said quickly. "Time to go."

She released my collar and the two of us walked away as fast as possible without looking suspicious. We needn't have worried. Seni was preoccupied with another tribute anyway.

As we turned a corner near the fire making station, Vee spun around and slammed me violently into the wall. I wasn't expecting in at all and I squealed in shock, quickly stopping as I realised how stupid I sounded.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded, shaking me. "Do you have a death wish or something?"

She must have seen the Peacekeeper walking briskly towards us, for she released me very quickly, a very un-Vee thing to do. She made no attempt to move out of my way though. She stood there, glaring down at me while she waited for her answer. I wasn't about to try and move past her. She scared me.

"I was only having a bit of fun," I protested. "It's boring in here, especially for someone like me who can't really use any weapons."

"And you think getting yourself killed will be entertaining?"

I shrugged. "Actually, I was hoping to get someone else killed. Stir up some trouble in the Career alliance."

"And just how are you planning on doing that?"

I smirked up at her. "Oh, you'll see," I said smartly. "I just need to wait for Seni to calm down a bit." I pressed the knife into her palm. "You keep this. I'm finished with that part of my plan."

"No way," she said, refusing to take hold of the knife. "I'm not going to be the one found with evidence on me. It's your plan, you keep the stupid knife." She turned to walk away. "I'm going to check out the axe station. Don't do anything stupid." She looked me up and down. "Well, stupider."

I smirked at her retreating figure. My plan wasn't stupid. It was pure genius! She's the stupid one not to see it. Well to be fair, I didn't even see the genius behind it until a few minutes ago. I just took the knife because I was bored.

I flipped the knife over in my hand. I'd never held a knife like this before; only my father's hunting ones from back home. I should really get around to learning some weaponry, but at that moment I couldn't be bothered. I'd tried out some daggers yesterday, but I wasn't very good at it and it didn't take me long to realise that I didn't have it in me to kill someone. Hell, I couldn't even kill an animal. The kids at school would find this all hilarious if they knew. Killian, the boy who was always spreading rumour, the boy who loved to tease people and cause trouble, wouldn't, and couldn't, kill. They'd all have a good laugh over that. I would try my best to get my hands on a dagger though. Grab a dagger, and get the hell away from everyone else.

Seni's shouts seemed to have died down, but he was clearly still angry. Probably mad because he was being made a fool of and not so much about the missing knife. I grinned and stuck the knife into a nearby wooden beam. Well he's going to look a lot more foolish now.

I could see Angela watching me through the corner of her eye as I made my way over to where Seni was standing. She was obviously trying to hide it, but I could see she was a bit interested in what I was going to do next. Truth me told, so was I. I hadn't really figured out what I was going to say yet. Well I'd better think fast. Seni was right in front of me.

"Uh, Seni?"

Seni whirled around, his blue eyes clearly angry. The pretty blond girl besides him watched with a confused expression on her face. Well, I think that's what her expression was. She generally looked that way most of the time.

"What do you want, kid?" he spat, glaring down at me. I gulped. An angry Seni was not a pretty sight. It was actually rather terrifying. But I couldn't back down now, no matter how much I wanted to.

"I saw who took your knife."

Before I knew it, Seni had grabbed me by the collar and had wrenched me off my feet. I shrunk away from him, but he just moved his face closer, his eyes narrowed menacingly.

"Well?" he demanded, his voice barely a hiss. "Spit it out."

"That boy from District 2," I said quickly, picking out the first Career tribute I saw. "He took it while you were showing that other girl how to throw properly."

He dropped me so suddenly that I didn't have time to get my footing. I fell to the ground hard, landing flat on my back. Thankfully, Seni ignored me. He stepped over me and marched straight towards the District 2 boy. Poor guy; he wouldn't know what hit him.

The blond girl stayed behind though, her light blue eyes watching me curiously. For once, her expression wasn't confused.

"I saw you take the knife," she declared, dropping the sugary sweet voice she usually spoke with. "You weren't exactly sneaky about it."

If I wasn't so frightened, that comment would have offended me. But at that moment, I was so scared that the girl would call out to Seni, telling him that I'd taken the knife and that I'd lied about it to his face. He'd kill me for sure.

"Don't worry," she continued, flicking a strand of blond hair out of her eyes, "I won't tell him. As much as I want to see him rip your head off, a fight between him and Nic would be much more entertaining. God it's boring in here."

With that, she too stepped over me and walked off in the direction of Seni and the District 2 boy. I couldn't help but grin at the sight unfolding before me. Seni was yelling at the other boy, who looked completely confused. The boy's sister was just plain angry, yelling right back at Seni and basically telling him to get lost, but in much less nice words. I couldn't have hoped for a better reaction.

"I have to admit," said a voice from above me, "that actually was kind of funny."

I looked up to see Vee, her red hair hanging over her face as she reached down and pulled me to my feet.

"Told you," I said smartly as I dusted off my pants. "You shouldn't doubt me."

Vee rolled her eyes. "Don't get too carried away with yourself now," she said, trying her best not to smile. "I still find you annoying."

I grinned. "Most people do. Now if you'll excuse me, I saw some tributes on this platform near the roof earlier and I want to see if I can climb up there too."

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**Thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 14: The Gamemaker's Scores

**Vitz Morales, District 6 (18)**

I sat by myself on the cold stone floor opposite the edible plant station, my back pressed against the wall as I fingered the metal plate around my neck. I usually hated being alone, but I'd woken up really depressed that morning and couldn't handle anyone's company without completely blowing up at them. Lexi had noticed that I was acting a bit off at breakfast and, even though I didn't say anything, seemed to understand how I was feeling. She could tell that I wanted to be alone and, thankfully, kept the rest of our alliance away from me in the training centre. I was glad. I didn't want any of them to see me like this.

It all started with the dream I had last night. In the dream, I was married to Corolla and our daughter, Celica, was already born and about a year old. There are no words in this world that could describe the feeling of happiness I felt in that dream. It was pure bliss; everything was perfect and nothing could possible go wrong. But it did. I had to wake up.

I cried when I realised it had all just been a dream. There was nothing I could do to prepare myself for that feeling of absolute hopelessness as I realised that the dream wasn't, and would never be, true. I was never going to see my daughter. I was never going to see Corolla again. I'd lost everyone who was ever important to me.

Who was I kidding; I had no chance of winning. I guess it could have been my depression causing me to think that but, looking around the room, I could see many other strong contenders who deserved to go home just as much as I did. In fact, everyone in this room deserved to go home. No one in here deserved to die; not those ruthless Careers and not even the Gamemakers who sat in their little box watching us. Everyone has an equal claim on life and no one has the right to take someone else's away from them. Except that's exactly what we were doing, what we were supposed to do. By the end of this week, at least half of us would have ended someone life. Maybe I'll even be one of those people.

The last time I'd felt this way, it was just after my parent's murder. I was only ten years old, but the Peacekeepers didn't seem to care. They shot them right in front of me and dumped me in the district's orphanage, where I lived until I was reaped.

I don't remember much about my first days there. All I can remember is shutting myself out from everyone else and not speaking to anyone. A few of the other kids took this as a sign of weakness and started to bully me. Little did they know that I had been trained to fight my entire life. My depression made angry and my anger made me violent. I think one of those kids nearly died after I was finished with him. After that incident, no one would adopt me. Who could ever want such a sad, violent child? But experiences at the orphanage weren't all bad though. That's where I met Corolla.

She was about nine, and probably the only one who wasn't afraid of the new, angry, kid. She challenged me, told me to suck it up because everyone in that orphanage had lost their parents one way or another, but they'd all learned to live with it and got on with their lives. I was quite taken aback with her bold statement, so surprised that this tiny child had the nerve to challenge me. I just looked at the floor and mumbled something about how no one else had to watch their parents get shot in the head. Surprisingly, she showed me no sympathy and told me the story of her parents' death. How they were trapped in their burning house while a neighbour got her to safety. She had to listen to their dying screams, knowing that there was nothing anyone could do to save them. By the time the fire department got there, it was too late. They were already dead. She told me that she was sad at first, but soon realised that her parents wouldn't want her to be upset all the time. They'd want her to be happy. They'd want her to live. And that was just what she was going to do.

I was so ashamed of my actions that I burst into tears. I felt so selfish, shutting myself out from the world when it was exactly the opposite of what my parents would have wanted. They'd spent all those years training me, training me so that I'd have a chance of living when I was, inevitably, sucked into the Hunger Games, and there I was, moping about as if all their wishes were for nothing. Corolla had held me as I cried, and from that moment on, we never left each other's sides.

But even thinking of that day wasn't enough to pull me out of my depression. Corolla wasn't there to hold me. She would never be there to hold me again.

I heard footsteps coming towards me and someone sat down besides me, leaning against the wall in the same manner that I was. I looked at the person through the corner of my eye and recognised her as Capri, the female tribute from District 7. I had no idea what she was sitting next to me. We'd never spoken before.

We sat there in silence, staring straight ahead and lost in our own thoughts. Even though I didn't know the girl, I appreciated her company. I was glad not to be alone anymore.

"I have four very close friends back home," she said suddenly, still staring straight ahead. "Jennie, Harry, Tylla and Shon." She smiled, as if remembering some fond memories of these four best friends. "Jennie actually tried to volunteer for me," she continued absentmindedly. "She would have been a good contender, very athletic and all that." She paused, sighing slightly. "I wouldn't let her take my place and Harry, who's actually her brother, forbade her from volunteering. But she still persisted." She sighed again. "I wonder what would have happened if I let her take my place. I don't think I would ever forgive myself if she was killed."

I remembered Capri's reaping. After her name was called out, a tall blond girl started screaming, screaming that she'd volunteer to go it Capri's place. A boy who looked so much like her that they had to be twins had pushed his way out of his line and had run towards her, ordering her not to go, not to throw her life away like that. It must have been quite hard on Capri to hear one of her best friends say that, but I guess most people would choose their siblings over their friends. That's the way it's supposed to be.

"My District partner is a volunteer," I replied after a long paused. "She volunteered for her cousin. I knew her cousin, or at least knew of her. She's one of the nicest girls in the district, couldn't even hurt a fly. She'd have died in the bloodbath, no question about it. Lexi did the right thing."

"I hope I don't die in the bloodbath."

Capri's words were so quiet that I barely heard them. I looked up at her to find her staring at the floor, her eyes clouding over. I put my hand on her arm.

"I've seen you with that axe," I said softly, trying my best to be comforting. "There's no way you'll be a bloodbath death. Just get the hell out of there as soon as you can. Those Careers look brutal."

"God they're annoying," she said, clearly irritated. "They just think they're so cool, that they can do whatever the hell they want. It pisses me off."

I chuckled. "Still mad about your encounter with those two boys on day one?"

"You saw that?"

"I think everyone saw that."

She sighed. "I don't know why I'm so annoyed over that," she admitted. "I guess it's because they're Careers and I've seen enough of their kind on TV to know what they're like."

"I don't like them much either," I explained. "That's why Lexi and I have compiled a group of tributes to hunt them down before they can hunt the rest of us. Let them know what it's like to be the prey."

Shit. Did I really just say that? Did I really just tell this girl I hardly knew about the plan that would, hopefully, keep me alive? That definitely wasn't the smartest move I'd ever made.

Luckily Capri just laughed. "Let me know how well that works out for you," she said, still laughing. "All I can say is 'good luck'. You're in for a rough ride."

"You could join us, if you want?"

What was wrong with me? Why was I saying all these things without thinking them through? I'm pretty sure that Lexi said she didn't want this angry District 7 girl in our alliance. But Capri didn't seem angry now. She actually seemed rather nice, quite similar to me in a lot of ways.

"I think I'll pass," she said with a grin. "Rowan and I are just going to hide out somewhere and wait for everyone else to kill each other. No way in hell I'm going looking for a fight."

"Suit yourself," I shrugged, "but you'll be sorry once the Games have started."

"I doubt it."

Yeah I doubted it too, but it seemed like the right thing to say. I actually quite liked Capri. She turned out to be very different to the image of her I'd formed in my mind. And, without knowing it, she'd managed to make me feel better. As we sat there, chatting casually and sharing stories, I felt my depression melt away and be replaced with a new feeling. Hope.

**Madeleine "Maddie" Michel, District 1 (12)**

"Figured out what you're going to show the Gamemakers yet?"

Sierra was the first to answer Seni's question, almost snapping her reply back at him.

"Archery, of course," she said, sounding quite snobbish. "After all, I am the best at shooting around here." She shot me a smug look, trying to coax an angry reaction out of me. But I remained silent. I was above her childish mind-games and was certainly not going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me lash out at her. Besides, I'd actually found a better way to annoy Sierra.

I smiled up at her, acting as though her nasty comment was irrelevant to anything that was going on in the training centre. From spending all this time cooped up with her, I'd learned quite a bit about her personality. Actually, I'd learned quite a bit about all my fellow Careers. What can I say, I'm observant. It's one of my greatest skills.

Seni basically tries to be as charming as possible all the time. Truth be told, her was actually quite good at it. I had a hard time not obeying his thoughts and ideas; he's actually quite persuasive. I also noticed that he's actually quite intelligent, but he has the tendency to underestimate people. For example, me. But I was just fine with that. He'd be a lot easier to kill if he didn't expect it and killing Seni was the only reason I volunteered for the Games in the first place. I wanted revenge on the family that ordered the death of my mother. And I was going to get it.

Sierra and Nic were very similar, both strong, both smart and both willing to kill. The only difference was that Nic wasn't trying to win the Games like the rest of us. He just wanted to keep his sister safe and, no matter how much I disliked Sierra, I couldn't help admiring him for that. It was one of the bravest things I'd ever seen and, considering they fought most of the time, I was astounded by how much he loved her. With Nic by her side, Sierra stood a good chance of winning.

Naomi was a tough character to place. She acts pretty ditzy all the time, but I can't help thinking that there's something more to it. Sometimes I caught a glimpse of this spark in her light blue eyes, a determination that was far from the brainless girl that she acts like. Is that what it all was? An act? If so, I couldn't imagine why anyone would purposely come across that way. She confused me, but I knew I still had to watch out for her once the Games started. That's the problem with being in a Career alliance. Everyone's strong and everyone's cunning. They could turn on you at any given moment.

Out of my entire alliance, Lance is definitely the one I get alone best with. I guess you could even call us friends. At first I thought he was going to be quite quiet, but once I got to know him I found that he was actually quite talkative. He's probably the smartest tribute this year and he's a very mathematical person, good at finding solutions to things and stuff. He sees people the same way and it didn't take him long to work out a full analogy off all the tributes in the training centre. Well expect for the District 7 girl. For some reason, he didn't know what to make of her. What I like most about Lance is that he's always thinking about something interesting and isn't shy to voice what's going on inside his head. He's definitely the most interesting to talk to.

"Seni Gold."

All the heads in the waiting room snapped up and looked towards the woman in the doorway. She was quite stout, with curly brown hair and pale skin. She didn't look like a typical Capitol citizen. In fact, I wouldn't have placed her in the Capitol at all if it weren't for her fitted Gamemakers' uniform.

Seni stood up, grinning. "After my test, the Gamemakers will be so disappointed with the rest of you that they'll probably give you all three because you can't compare to me!"

Under any normal circumstances, I would have rolled my eyes at his comment, but I was feeling a little tense. I was up next and I hadn't planned what I was going to show the Gamemakers yet. I must have looked a little freaked out, unusual for me since I'm usually quite composed, because Lance leaned over and said, "Don't worry about it. You'll be fine. Remember, I've seen you train. You're one of the best in here."

I smiled at his reassuring words. "Thanks," I whispered back. "Hopefully I remember everything I've learned when I get in there."

Lance chuckled. "Oh you will. Go in there and show them what you can do. Just think how pissed off Sierra would be if you got a higher training score than she did."

Now it was my turn to laugh. "Her reaction would be priceless. Pity we don't all get to watch the revealing of the scores together."

"Madeliene Michel."

Wow, Seni took much quicker than I thought he would. Or maybe time just seemed faster because I was nervous. It was strange; normally I don't get nervous for anything.

I got up out of my chair as Lance patted my back reassuringly. I glanced around at the others who all wished me good luck, save for Sierra who was looking in the opposite direction. Standing up at straight as I could, I followed the female gamemaker to the door and entered the training room again.

The training room seemed a lot bigger without all the other tributes in it. Even though it was brightly lit for the Gamemakers tests, it was still quite cold and I tried not to shiver as I walked towards the centre of the room. The Gamemakers were watching me intently from their little box, most of them sitting straight up in their seats to catch a glimpse of the crazy 12-year-old who volunteered for the Games. They must have been pretty curious about what I was planning on doing. Pity I had no idea yet, but even so I was determined to give them a good show.

Smiling up at the people in the box, I made my way over to the obstacle course, pausing to grab a hold of two training dummies and dragged them behind me. Placing them at specific spots on the course, I went back to get some more, an avox attended running out of a nearby door to help me move some more. She reminded me of my favourite avox servant back home, but I couldn't think about my home now. I needed to stay focused.

Once all the dummies were in place, I walked over to the weapon's rack and selected a long, golden trident. Some of the Gamemakers looked surprised. Quite obviously, they weren't expecting a little girl from District 1 to choose such a weapon. It was more of a District 4 thing.

Holding the trident in one hand, I walked smoothly towards the beginning of the obstacle course, smiling all the way. As I reached the started, I looked up at the Gamemakers.

"You ready?" I asked them innocently.

Identical looks of surprise crossed each face in the box. I guess they don't get many tributes talking to them. I grinned.

"Don't blink now."

And then I was off.

I bounded towards the course, clearing the first obstacle easily and slashing through the dummies I'd placed on either side with the trident. Obstacle courses were definitely one of my strengths. My body had always been quite flexible, making me a perfect student for gymnastics, which I'd been taking since I was five. People often compare my body to water, saying it more so fluidly and so agile that it can't possibly we solid. I wished I could have seen the Gamemakers reaction to how quickly I was clearing the course, but I knew I couldn't risk it. I had to stay focused.

Not even a minute later, I'd cleared the course and impaled all of the dummies around it. I threw aside my trident, grabbed a bow and a few knives, and started to climb up to the very top of the obstacle course. From the top, I shot some arrows neatly into the chests of the few remaining dummies, all the way on the other side of the room. Swinging down from my spot, I ran over to those very dummies, throwing knives into their heads as I ran, as if making sure they were really 'dead'. When I reached them, I used their remains to form a make-shift shelter where I sat and smiled up at them happily. Looks of complete shock met my gaze. Obviously they weren't expecting to see what they did. I hoped they were impressed; I couldn't really tell what they were thinking from the expressions on their faces.

"Thank you, Madeliene," said the Gamemaker sitting in the centre of the box after a long pause. "You can go now."

I could still feel their eyes staring at my back as I left the room.

**Barley "Lee" Maple (18)**

"Aluma Barric."

Aluma looked up at me fearfully, her large brown eyes looking even wider as she tried not to cry. I could see that she was shaking, and she was clutching at her little wooden ball so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. I took her hand and prised her fingers open, taking the ball out of her grip.

"Here, I'll keep this for you," I said softly, giving Aluma a reassuring smile. "Don't want you dropping it in front of all those Gamemakers." Aluma gave a small nod and I continued, "You'll be fine, Al. Show them how fast you can run and how well you can hide." I have her a little push to get her moving. "You'll be fine. Good luck."

Aluma started to walk, but turned her head to look at me as she reached the door. She smiled slightly, and then she was gone.

I felt someone take the little wooden ball from my hands and I turned, slightly confused, to look at Brax. Brax was the only one of my alliance who hadn't seen the Gamemakers yet. The others had all gone it, all rather confidently aside from Aluma. I was glad to have Brax with me. He was a cool guy and I was happy to have some company before my test.

"It actually is quite comforting," said Brax as she passed the little ball between his hands. "I can see why Aluma likes it so much." She laughed. "It's actually calming me down right now."

"You nervous?" I asked, surprised. Brax was pretty skilled; he had nothing to worry about.

Brax nodded. "A bit," he admitted, not looking up from the ball, "A little annoyed that my weapon of choice isn't around. Looks like it will have to be spears then."

"What's you weapon of choice?"

Brax looked up, pleased that I'd asked that question. "A pitchfork, or maybe even a scythe," he said, sounding quite proud. "I work with them a lot back in District 10, being involved with lots of live stock and all that."

"Oh yeah, you're also from a farming district," I replied, patting him on the back. "Well we farming boys have to stick together then."

"Lucky for us, we're in an alliance."

I glanced over at Brax, who was still playing with that ball and asked, "What do you think of our alliance?"

Brax sighed. "I don't really know what to make of it," he said. "I still think it's risky, but I guess I'd rather hunt them than have them hunting us." He passed the little ball back to me. "Here, you should keep this now. You're name should be called soon."

And he was right, no sooner had I pocked the ball, the door on the other side of the room opened again, revealing the stout woman once more.

"Barley Mapel."

"Psychic much," I said to Brax as I stood up. "Maybe you should predict the outcome of the Games."

I was expecting Brax to laugh, but the boy looked up at me seriously. "Even if I was psychic, I wouldn't want to predict what's going to happen in the Games. Good luck."

I nodded at him and followed the female Gamemaker through the door, jumping slightly as it slammed shut behind me. I looked up at the Gamemakers in the box.

"Uh," I said awkwardly, "can I have a sparring partner, please?"

Another door opened and a Peacekeeper came out, looking quite menacing in his pure white uniform. But I wasn't scared. I'd been waiting for this moment for a long time. Today was the day I would finally, and legally, beat a Peacekeeper. Sure, he's not one of the ones in my district who I despise so much, but really any Peacekeeper would do. And I knew I would win. Not just anyone can become District 9's fencing champion.

"What would you like to spar with?"

The Peacekeeper's voice was surprisingly high, but I kept my face expressionless. I wasn't going to show these people any emotion. Today, I was a fighter.

"Swords."

The Peacekeeper nodded and cross the room to where a display of swords were hanging on the wall. Real swords, not those wooden ones that the siblings from District 2 often sparred with. Tossing one to me, he held his in both hands and faced me, waiting for me to make the first move.

I didn't hesitate. As soon as I felt the sword securely in my hands, I lunged forward and jabbed my sword at where the Peacekeeper's chest was a moment ago. I was surprised by his speed and it threw me off balance as I was expecting to his it. I just managed to block the blow the Peacekeeper thrust to my head, parrying it nicely until out swords were at chest height, still pressed together.

Then the Peacekeeper did something strange. Instead of pushing against my sword harder, like most opponents would do, he took a step back. I fell forward in surprise and barely managed to intercept the blow the Peacekeeper took to my neck. That would have killed me for sure.

There were murmurs of approval from the Gamemakers' box. Well at least they were enjoying the show. Now I just needed to end it.

I faked a thrust to the Peacekeeper's left side, quickly changing halfway there and jabbed towards his right. Unfortunately, he saw me and easily deflected my blow. I was actually getting a bit annoyed, but I couldn't stop the fight; the Gamemakers wouldn't like that and probably lower my score. I had to win.

The Peacekeeper was getting more aggressive now, sending swipe after swipe my way. I was finding it challenging to block all his attacked, but I knew I had to keep it up and not attack. Yet. He was making a rookie mistake. He was getting into a pattern, a pattern which I was going to break as soon as he looked comfortable enough with what he was doing. He clearly thought that he wasn't giving me enough time to form an attack on him. Well he was wrong.

I lashed out suddenly, catching the Peacekeeper's sword with mine and thrust in downwards. I saw a look of pure surprise cross the man's face as he lost his grip on the sword and it clattered to the ground. There were some gasps from above and I looked up at the Gamemakers' table, most of them looking back at me approvingly.

"Thank you Barley," said the one in the centre as he caught my gaze. "You can go now."

**Nicolai "Nic" Golding, District 2 (17)**

I was sitting on the plush couch in front of the TV waiting for the training scores to be revealed. Sierra was sitting on the carpet before me, leaning against my legs as I platted tiny strands of her sleek blond hair. I was glad it was just us in the room. We hadn't been able to spend much time together since the reaping and I'd really missed her company. Sure, I'd seen her every day in training and at dinner, but the girl I watched interact with the others wasn't my sister. Or rather, wasn't my sister like I knew her. She's always been strong and she's always been tough, bossy even, but I still missed that little girl who used to play soldiers with me in the back yard of our house in the Victors' Village. That girl was gone now.

"Quit pulling my hair," Sierra snapped, slapping my hand away. "If you're going to plat it, be careful. My stupid stylist would have a fit if I showed up bald tomorrow."

I chuckled. "All the more reason to pull your hair out."

"I'm serious Nic, pull my hair one more time and you're going to get it."

"Oooh, what you gonna do?" I said, my voice mocking. "I'm soooo scared."

Without warning, Sierra whipped around and flung herself at me, knocking me backwards and pinning me down on the couch. I just grinned at her and rolled over, causing us both to fall off the couch and hit the carpeted floor hard. Now it was me who was pinning her down.

"Problem, sister?" I asked innocently as she struggled underneath me. "Having trouble moving?"

She screamed in anger and kicked out with both feet, catching me by surprise as she hit me squarely in the chest. I was thrown off her and she wasted no time following me, kneeling on my arms as she pinned me to the floor.

"Problem, Brother," she asked, mirroring the innocent voice I'd used only moments before. "I don't see a problem here."

I kicked out at her, but she caught my foot and pinned it down behind her back. But now she was sitting in quite an awkward position so it wasn't hard to get her off balance and push her off me. Which is exactly what I did. Sierra cried out angrily as I pinned her down once again.

Our wrestling carried on for a few minutes, each of us pinning the other down an equal number of times and neither of us giving up, even though we were both quite tired. I was surprised to hear that Sierra was actually laughing. It had been a while since I'd heard her laugh; her real laugh, not those fake, mean laughs she'd been giving to people in the training room. She had a nice laugh, a happy laugh which made me happy too. But the moment was over far too soon. And of course, it was spoilt by out escort, Akantha Attice.

"Just what is going on in here," she demanded, hands on hips. "You know the rules; no fighting with other tributes!"

"We weren't fighting," I said quickly, pushing a surprised Sierra off my chest. "Just messing around."

Akantha narrowed her artificial pink eyes at us. "Well 'just messing around' could get one of you hurt. Your stylist would murder me if something happened to either of you."

"Good," Sierra muttered besides me. "Nic, I think I've come up with a plan to get rid of Annoying A."

I smiled and gave her a push. Akantha just glared at us.

"Just do what Akantha says," said Sierra's mentor, Ordell Rowland as she entered the room. "One thing I learned from my stay here is not to annoy her."

Ordell had won about three years ago, volunteering at the age of eighteen. My mentor, Malo Virurin had won eleven years before her and was one of the first ever 'Careers'. He was a likeable guy, though I was sure his experiences of the Games never quite left him, because sometimes he gets really quiet and seems rather withdrawn. Like now, for example, as he silently followed Ordell into the room and sat down besides her on the couch.

"Get up off the floor, you two," said Akantha, turning back into her annoyingly perky self. "The scores are going to be revealed soon. Aren't you just so excited to see what you got?"

"Of course," I said smoothly, getting to my feet and pulling Sierra up after me. "The suspense has been killing me all day."

I wasn't actually being sarcastic. I was actually kind of curious to see how I'd placed. I could tell Sierra was too as he walked quickly over to the couch and sat down between our mentors. I took the remaining space left to Akantha just as the TV flickered into life and showed a picture of Aristos Charis, the man who would be conducting the interviews for the past fifteen years, and the Head Gamemaker, Simeon Thom. They were chatting pleasantly about the Games, laughing and smiling towards the camera.

"So Simeon," said Aristos as he smiled at the man sitting next to him. "Can you give out audience any ideas about what the arena's going to be like this year?"

"Aristos," Simeon laughed in reply. "You ask me this every year, and I promise you, my answer will never change. Like always, the arena is a surprise to everyone. I don't think it would be much fun if the tributes knew exactly what they were going into, do you?"

"Of course not," said Aristos understandingly, nodding. "But still, can't you give us a small hint. The audience is dying to know."

Dying. Nice choice of words there. The audience as far from the ones dying in this situation.

"All I can say," said Simeon slowly, "is that this arena is like something no one alive today has ever seen before. A whole new environment that we lost a long time ago."

"Oooh," Aristos gasped, "now isn't that exciting? Something new to us all! I think I speak for everyone when I say that I'm very excited to see what you've planned this year."

"Trust me, you won't be disappointed."

Aristos smiled at the camera again. "And there you have it," he said to the audience. "A small piece of what you can expect from this year's Hunger Games." He turned to thank Simeon before carrying one. "Now for the moment you've all been waiting for...the training scores!"

A picture of Seni flashed across the screen, a bright number 9 appearing next to his grinning face.

"Once again, District 1 fails to disappoint," muttered Ordell as she watched Seni's face on the screen. "I hope you too score higher than him."

I hoped so too, but I kept quiet because Maddie's picture had appeared. I glanced over at Sierra, who looked very tense as she waited for Maddie's score. It wasn't a secret that she disliked that girl. Maddie's score appeared.

"An eleven!" Sierra screamed, jumping up out of her seat. "How can that kid get an eleven? I'll kill her myself, just to prove how stupid that score is. She's freaking twelve years old! How the hell can they give her an eleven?"

"Calm down Sierra," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "It's just a training score. Get over it."

She glared at me and made no attempt to sit back down. She just stood there in front of the TV, still fuming as my face appeared. I had to admit, that was a pretty good photo of me. It looked even better when a large number 10 blinked into view besides my photo.

The others in the room, except for Sierra, burst into applause.

"Oh well done Nicolai," gushed Akantha as she patted me on the back. "Such a good score."

"I expected nothing less," said Ordell, smirking. "Great job."

Malo remained silent.

"You're next Sierra," said Akantha excitedly.

"No shit, hey?" she muttered in reply as she turned her attention back to the TV just as her picture showed up. She'd also scored a 10.

The others burst onto applause again.

"Nice," I said, getting up to stand next to her. "Pretty good score, if I do say so myself."

She rolled her eyes at me. "It will do."

The tributes from three scored five and six respectably and then Lance's face flashed across the screen, revealing that he'd scored an 8.

"Not bad," I said nodding, just as Naomi's face appeared. Now this was a score I was interested in seeing.

Naomi had scored a three.

"Are you kidding me?" screeched Sierra. "A three? A _three?_ What kind of Career scores a three? What the hell did she do in there? Curl up on the floor and go to sleep?"

I tuned out from Sierra's ranting and started to watch the TV again. I was quite interested to see what the other tributes had scored.

The pair from District 4 both scored 6s and both the tributes from Five managed to pull off a 7. The tough-looking girl from District 6 had scored a 9 and her district partner had scored an 8. Unusually high scores from someone now from a Career district. The pretty girl from Seven had received a 6, her district partner scoring one point higher. Both from Eight received 4s. The good-looking boy from District 9 scored an 8 and the small girl who was his district partner had somehow managed to get a 6. I was quite surprised. I'd expected her to get about 2. The angelic girl from District 10, Shay, had also pulled off a 6 and the boy received a 7. The District 11 boy had scored a 6 and his district partner, the dark athletic Lara, received a 9. I wasn't surprised at all. She was definitely one of the toughest tributes. Lara's high training score made Sierra even angrier than she already was, causing her to punch the couch over and over again. Looks like she was still mad about Lara's rejection. The cheeky boy from Twelve, the one who I had seen steal Seni's knife, scored a 4 and the girl, Vee, had managed a 7. And that was it. The training scores had been revealed.

"Wow," said Ordell as she switched off the TV. "They're some unusually high scores from none Career districts this year. You two better watch out."

"Oh please," scoffed Sierra, turning away from us. "It's no competition. Even if they all scored 12s, I would still win." She marched out of the room.

She was right. She was going to win. I was going to make sure of that.

**Next up, the interviews! Let me know whose interview you would like to see the most. I want to know who you guys want me to write about. Favourite characters?**

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**Thanks again to everyone who's reviewed and added my story to their alerts and favourites. You guys are awesome!**


	16. Chapter 15: The Interviews Part 1

**The interview chapter I wrote is quite long, so I decided to split it up into two parts. Here is part one. Enjoy!**

**Seni Gold, District 1 (17)**

"Looking good, District 7!"

The blond girl shot me a dirty look as I whistled at her, and stalked off to her place in the line where her district partner was waiting for her. This just made me laugh. I don't even know why I enjoyed teasing her so much; well if you could even call that teasing. More like one-sided flirting if you ask me. Her reactions were always hilarious, blowing me off every time, and she definitely wasn't as easy as Naomi. I swear, that girl would hook up with anything with a pulse. Plus, that District 7 girl is quite hot, so if she did eventually give into my advances, they'd be something in it for me. She looked especially stunning tonight. Her stylist had dressed her in a floor-length, deep blue dress, which clung to her every curve and provided a striking contrast with her fair skin. She'd definitely be pulling in some sponsors tonight.

"Aw, don't look at me like that," I called after her. "You know I like a challenge!"

I heard a sigh besides me and I turned to see Maddie looking up at me disapprovingly.

"I wish you'd stop going on like that with that girl," she said as she shook her head. "She's not interested."

"Like I said, I enjoy a challenge," I replied, winking at the small girl. "And besides, we're going into the arena tomorrow. Let me have my fun while it lasts."

Maddie scowled and looked away. Someone snorted behind me.

"Feeling a little jealous, are you Maddie?" Sierra asked mockingly. "You know he's too old for you, right?"

Maddie's reply was as calm as always and she didn't look up while speaking.

"I wouldn't go for Seni if we were the last two people alive."

"Right back at you," I replied as Nic and Lance roared with laughter. "You're not nearly hot enough for me anyway."

That was a lie. Well half a lie. Maddie was just a kid now, but in a few years she definitely would be hot enough for me. She was honestly one of the prettiest little girls I'd ever seen. Not that I check out little girls...that would be creepy. Please, I do have some morals. Tonight she was wearing a flowing dress made from ivory coloured satin, overlaid by a golden gauze which highlighted the golden strands in her long hair. Her hair was twisted into a tasteful messy bun, which looked like it could fall out at any moment but, of course, I knew if wouldn't. No stylist would want their tribute's hairstyle falling out on stage. A few strands of hair were left loose and they fell gently around her heart-shaped face, framing it perfectly. She looked like a little angel.

Naomi pushed her way passed Nic and linked her arm through mine.

"Well I certainly would," she said as she planted a small kiss on my cheek. "Especially if it were tonight. You look extremely hot in that outfit, Seni."

I looked extremely hot in anything I wore, but even I was stunned by the effect that my stylist had gone for. The outfit was fairly simple, plain black pants with a long-sleeved white dress shirt, but I think that was its charm. Wouldn't want to distract the audience from my natural good looks. My stylist had added a blueish-violet tie as an after thought to bring out that exact colour in my eyes. I was very happy with how I looked tonight.

Naomi's stylist had gone with a more princessy approach, which was exactly what she was in my eyes; pretty, rich and spoilt. Her blond hair was left loose and it tumbled in soft curls down her back. Her dress was a light blue, the same colour as her eyes, and was incredibly tight at the top, fastened at her small waist with a big, lace bow. That same colour lace was used around the low neck-like of the dress as well as around the ends of the short sleeves. The dress poofed out slightly after the lacy bow and ended about mid thigh. I was slightly disappointed with this outfit. I was hoping it would be similar to the sexy mermaid one she'd worn for the opening ceremony.

"God Naomi, obvious much," muttered Sierra, rolling her eyes. "You're-"

Applause cut across the rest of Sierra's undoubtedly nasty comment. That could only mean one thing. Aristos Charis, the tribute interviewer for the last fifteen years, had walked out onto the stage. About time.

"Good evening, good evening," he cried over the crowd's cheers. "And what a lovely evening it is! It's great to have you all with us tonight!"

The crowd cheered louder and Aristos stood in the middle of the stage, grinning like an idiot until the cheers eventually subsided.

"Now," he said as the last few claps died away, "let's get down to business, shall we? Are you ready to meet the people who you've heard so much about these past few days?" More cheers. "Ladies and gents, put your hands together for the tributes of the 49th Hunger Games!"

That was our queue to walk onto the stage. A rather charming smile appeared on Maddie's face and she started to walk forward. I also plastered on a grin and followed her, Sierra directly behind me. The crowd started shouting and whistling as we came into view, and I couldn't help lifting up one of my arms and giving them a wave. As much as the Capitol people disgusted me, I loved their attention. Once we were all seated in our little ring around the stage, Aristos smiled widely at the crowd and began to speak again.

"And don't they all just look lovely tonight?" he asked the crowd, who cheered in response. "I bet you all can't wait to hear what they have to say!" More cheers. "So let's get started with our first tribute then! She's beautiful, she's sweet, but with a training score of eleven, you can't help but wonder what she's got hidden up her sleeve. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage... Madeleine Michel!"

Maddie stood up from her chair and walked gracefully to meet Aristos in the centre of the stage, waving to the crowd all the way. The crowd died down as she sat daintily in her chair, clearly anxious to hear what she had to say. Aristos started.

"Welcome, welcome Madeliene," he said, shaking her small hand. "And might I say, you look especially dashing tonight."

"Please, call me Maddie," she replied with another one of her charming smiles. "You look quite dashing yourself." The crowd loved this and began to cheer again. "It's a real treat to be here! I can't believe I'm actually in the Capitol right now. It's like a dream!"

_More like a nightmare, _I thought as the crowd sized up again. _Trust me, this dream of yours will be over soon._

"So Maddie," Aristos was saying as I tuned into the interview again. "How does it feel to be the youngest out of all the tributes this year, and still get the highest training score? Eleven! You must be pretty proud of yourself."

"It feels great," Maddie gushed, putting on her little excited girl act again. "I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw that number next to my face." Liar, you couldn't have looked smugger. "Me? An eleven? I thought there must have been some mistake."

"Always so modest," said Aristos, patting Maddie's hands. "It's what we love most about you, my dear. But remember, it's okay to be proud of your achievements every once in a while."

"Thank you, Aristos," Maddie replied with her charming smile. "I guess I owe my father, Diesel Michel, thanks for my high training score."

"Diesel Michel," said Aristos in fake confusion as the crowd awwwed. "Now why is that name so familiar to me?"

"Because he won the 24th Hunger Games."

"Of course, of course!" Aristos cried, slapping his forehead. "Diesel is definitely one of our more beloved victors. I remember his Games well. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time!"

"It was exciting, wasn't it?" Maddie continued above the roar of the crowd. "My dad showed it to me once. Even though I knew he would win, I found myself covering my eyes every time he came into contact with another tribute."

"And I'm sure he'll be doing the same as he watches your Games," said Aristos gravely. "Not that he has much to worry about though. You did get an eleven after all. And you're even a volunteer! You must be pretty confident with your abilities! So Maddie, we here in the Capitol are all dying to know why a young girl like you, only twelve years old, volunteered herself for the Hunger Games."

_Buzzzzz!  
_The crowed groaned at the sound of the buzzer. They obviously wanted to hear Maddie's reason for volunteering. I don't blame them, I wanted to know too.

"Looks like we're out of time!" groaned Aristos, throwing his hands up in the air. "Funny how time flies when you're having fun, hey? Thank you so much for joining us here Maddie, and the best of luck in the arena."

"Thank you, it was a pleasure to be here."

She gave the crowd one last smile and returned to her seat, blatantly ignoring Sierra's glare as she sat down. I would have made a comment, but before I knew it, Aristos was announcing the next tribute. Me.

"-Put your hands together for the handsome Mr Seni Gold!"

I got up casually from my chair and walked confidently to the middle of the stage where Aristos was waiting for me. The crowd was shouting pretty loudly for me as I walked across the stage, and I winked to three girls in the front row as I passed, causing all three of them to start chanting my name. I smirked. Good, I was picking up some sponsors already.

"Seni!" cried Aristos as I reached him, jumping up out of his chair to greet me. "Lovely to finally meet you!"

"Right back at you," I replied, grinning as I shook his hand. "It's great to meet you too."

"I bet I wasn't the only one dying to meet you," Aristos continued, still shaking my hand. "Did you know that you were voted this year's best looking tribute?"

Well obviously. If anyone had to win that title, it would be me.

"I had no idea," I said as I pulled my hand out of Aristos' grip. "I am extremely flattered." Not really, but it seemed like the right thing to say at the time. "Tell any girls who are 'dying to meet me' to come up to my room after the interviews. I'm dying to meet them too."

The audience laughed at this and I smiled smugly. This was going exactly how I wanted it to.

"Oh Seni," laughed Aristos. "You are just too funny. You should be thankful that's not allowed. You'd have girls lined up for miles! You'd never get any sleep, and you'll need plenty of that the night before going into the arena."

I shrugged. "I really don't see any problem with that."

The audience laughed again, but quickly died down as Aristos began to speak again.

"I'm sure you don't," he said, more to the crowd than to be. "But now on a more serious note; how are you feeling about the Games tomorrow? Any plans that you are willing to share with us."

"I feel pretty confident," I said, grinning at the crowd again. "I'm actually pretty excited. I've been looking forward to volunteering since my first ever reaping." More cheers. "As for plans, well that's actually pretty simple. Kill as many tributes as I can and win the Games. Capitol, expect a good, bloody show!"

"We'll expect nothing less!" shouted Aristos as the crowd roared at my last comment. "We'll hold you to your word!" The buzzer went off, sounding out loudly even though the crowd was making so much noise. "Well Seni, looks like we're out of time. "Good luck for tomorrow and we look forward to seeing what you can do!"

"And I look forward to showing you," I said as I stood up. "Thanks for the luck, but I don't need it. Nothing can stand in the way of me winning."

The crowd loved this last comment so much that most of them jumped out of their seats, clapping wildly. I smirked at the other tributes as I made my way back to my seat. I'd like to see them top that. The crowd was still cheering as Aristos began to introduce Sierra.

"This next tribute got the second highest training score, but being from District 2, we expect nothing less. She's beautiful, she's deadly, ladies and gentlemen I give you, Miss Sierra Golding!"

I couldn't help but notice how attractive Sierra looked in her clingy, emerald green dress. It had a high neck-line, ending about halfway up her neck, and left her shapely arms bare. The hem ended about mid thigh, revealing a lot of her long legs and accenting her shiny silver heels as she walked across the stage. She sat down immediately when she reached Aristos, smiling confidently at the crowd. To be honest, I didn't pay much attention to Sierra's interview. She was basically saying a whole lot of typical-Sierra things, like how she's going to win, etc, how she's ready for whatever the Gamemakers throw at her, etc, how she can't wait to show everyone what she can do with a bow, etc. Quite boring actually. The only interesting part was when Aristos asked her about how she felt having Nic with her in the arena. Her reply was still Sierra-like, but she faltered slightly before giving it, as if she was about to say something else instead.

"I think he's incredibly stupid for not accepting volunteers," she said, looking straight ahead. "But that's not the Golding family way." She flashed another smile at the audience. "At least now the Goldings have a better chance of bringing home another victory!"

Ah, of course. Her father was a victor too.

The buzzer went off and Aristos said goodbye to Sierra, kissing her hand and wishing her good luck. The audience really loved Sierra, even though she didn't make much of an attempt to be nice to them. She played the cold, confident angle quite well.

"We've seen his sister, but just how similar to her is this next tribute? They look alike on the outside; now let's get inside his head to find out what he's really thinking. Ladies and Gents, Nicolai Golding!"

The audience cheered as Nic began to walk towards Aristos. They sickened me. Typical Capitol people, loving the tragedy of two siblings being forced to into a fight where only one of them could come out alive. Well if I had my way, neither of them would come out alive, but it was still pretty sad to see them being thrust into that situation. Even I felt a bit sorry for them.

Back home I have four sisters, with another on the way. Surprisingly, we are all quite close. I don't know what I would do if I was forced into a situation like Sierra and Nic's. I guess I'd end up dying, purely to save which ever sister gets caught up with me. Is that what Nic was going to do? Is that why he didn't accept any volunteers; to protect his sister? I had to admire him for that, even thought his bravery was in vain. Neither of them were going to win. I was.

I turned my attention back on the stage where Nic was halfway through his interview.

"Nic, you have to tell us, just what was going through your head when your name was called out? It must have been quite a shock for you. For everyone actually."

"Yeah, it was quite a shock," agreed Nic, fiddling with the end of his emerald green tie. "I had to do a double take; make sure it was actually my name, you know?"

"It was honestly the last thing I expected," Aristos said sadly. "The whole situation couldn't be more tragic. We've never had two siblings compete in the Games before. Heartbreaking."

The crowd murmured in agreement, a few people actually sobbing. I tried not to gag.

Nic shrugged. "Truth be told, I'd rather go into the arena with Sierra than have to sit at home and watch her fight on TV. At least this way I can make sure she's safe."

The crowd awwwed and a few more people burst into tears. From my seat, I could see the three girls that I winked at earlier, tears streaming down their faces as they clung to one another in their front row seats.

"So is that way you didn't take any volunteers?" asked Aristos. "So you could protect your sister."

"That's right." He paused, taking in the crowd's reaction before he continued. "Sierra has, and always will be, the single most important person in my life. I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to her that I could have prevented. It's what big brothers are supposed to do; protect their baby sisters. I love Sierra and I can't imagine life without her. I don't want to imagine life without her."

The saw camera lenses flashing as they turned to get a shot of Sierra's reaction. Soon her face appeared on the giant screens around the room, but her expression remained blank, not showing any emotion over what she just heard. Disappointed with what they saw, the cameras turned back to the interview.

"Heartbreaking," Aristos said again, wiping a tear from his eye. "You're bravery is astonishing. I wish you and your sister all the best for the Games and, hopefully, your sacrifice won't be in vain."

"Thank you."

The buzzer went off and Nic left Aristos to rejoin the rest of the tributes sitting in a ring around the stage. Sierra's face remained expressionless the whole time, but I could have sworn I saw her take her brother's hand as he sat down again and give it a small squeeze.

**Lance Wolff, District 4 (17)**

I think at least half the audience members teared up during Nic's interview. I have to admit, it was pretty sad. Only the Capitol would find entertainment in something as cruel as forcing siblings to fight to the death. It made me sick.

Even some of the tributes had tears in their eyes, even though they knew what I bitch Sierra could be. The District 5 girl besides me looked especially sad, holding tightly to the hand of the boy to her left. Did she not realise that Sierra would kill her in a heart beat once they entered the arena?

The crowd burst into laughter and I snapped back to reality. Naomi was giving her interview, joking and laughing with Aristos as if the tragic interview before her hadn't happened. The audience seemed to have moved on too, and were quite enjoying Naomi's performance.

Naomi was acting ditzy and ultra girly, her dumb responses to questions sending the audience into fits of laughter. She seemed to really be enjoying the attention, and the crowd especially loved her amusing ways of describing what happens in the training room. They didn't seem to mind her pathetic training score at all. In fact, they seemed to sympathise with her. She was dressed like a princess after all, and that was pretty much what all the women in the Capitol were like. Pampered princesses. They were completely understanding when she explained about how she was never trained for the Games and how she never expected to get chosen. They even cheered when she told them how she was always first in line in the Town Square to watch the Games every year. They loved her because she reminded them of themselves. Stuck up, stupid and spoilt.

Naomi's interview was over all too soon. Before I knew it, Aristos was bidding her farewell and introducing me.

"-I give you, Mr Lance Wolff!"

I wasn't usually one to get nervous, but even so I felt my palms sweating as I left my seat to walk towards Aristos. This was it. If I was going to pick up any sponsors, this would be the time to do it.

Aristos swiftly welcomed me to the stage, shaking my hand vigorously as I sat down. He wasted no time, eager to begin my interview.

"So Lance," he began, grinning from ear to ear, "do tell us the inspiration for your ensemble tonight. I think I speak for all of us when I say you look absolutely stunning!"

Cheers and whistles from the crowd confirmed this. I smiled at them, pleased that they liked my outfit. I also did.

My pants and tie were quite simple; both pitch black, so it must have been the shirt that everyone was so interested in. Even I couldn't begin describe the colour, or colours more like. There were just too many to describe and every time I looked at my shirt, a new one seemed to jump out at me. The shirt was made from a soft, shimmering fabric that caught the light whenever I moved. It was a mother-of-pearl colour, a pearly white with shimmering bits of pink and blue which seemed to move as I did. It was a colour you'd expect to find on the inside shell of an abalone, a large shell-fish commonly found along the District 4 beaches that was a treat here in the Capitol. Or maybe the colour of the new pearl you'd find if you opened up the shell of an oyster. It was one of the most beautiful shirts I'd ever seen.

"My stylist, Triton," I began as the crowd began to subside, "said that he wanted to create an outfit that represented who I was." I reached into my top pocket and pulled out my district token, holding it high in the air so that everyone could see it. "My outfit was based on this ring. Triton really did at amazing job at capturing all the different colours of the pearl in the centre."

The crowd awwwed as the cameras zoomed in on the ring and its picture appeared on the huge screens around the room. It looked even more beautiful on the big screen, catching the light at many different angles and reflecting it back at the audience.

"Wow," breather Aristos, transfixed by the ring's beauty. "Mind if I take a look at that?"

"Not at all."

I learned forward and handed Aristos the ring, smiling the entire time. The audience seemed to love my 'generosity' and applauded as I gave the ring up.

"This sure if a masterpiece," said Aristos, holding the ring up close to his eye. "Is it from a special girl back home?"

_It was supposed to be for a special girl_, I thought as I told him that it was given to me by my mother. _But I'm not going to tell anyone that. The meaning of this ring will die with me._

I was suddenly taken back to the night of my mother's death, that night when she lay in her bed, slowly dying, and gave me that ring. I can still hear her voice as she told me what that ring meant to her, and what it would mean for me too. The ring had been passed down my father's bloodline for generations, the eldest son in the family giving it to the girl he fell in love with on their wedding day. That's how she'd acquired the ring; from my father. But now I was going to die before I found that girl and, since I was the only child in my family, the ring would die along sides me.

"Now isn't that just precious," awwwed Aristos. "A young, strong boy such as yourself bringing a token from his mother into the arena." The audience awwwed, echoing Aristos. "Tell us Lance; are you and your mother close?"

"She died when I was four."

Silence. I don't think the audience was expecting to hear that. Aristos recovered first.

"Tragic," he said sadly, patting my hand. "Just tragic. And even to this day you've kept the ring. You were very young when she passed. Do you remember much of her?"

I nodded. "I can still remember her clearly," I replied, not looking at any one in particular. "She was always kind, so full of life. I don't think I fully understood what was happening until she died that night. She was very sick, but even so she did her best to hide her pain and stay strong for me. She also loved to sing, and she had the most amazing voice. My dad used to say that even the angels up in heaven would stop to listen every time she opened her mouth. There was this one song she used to sing to me every night before I fell asleep. Sometimes I still think of it when I'm lying in bed with my eyes closed."

"Would you sing it for us?" Aristos asked eagerly. "I'm sure everyone here would love to hear it."

I didn't want to sing for them. That was my mother's song, a special bond between the two of us that I didn't want to share. But even so, I opened my mouth and began to sing.

"_Ring the bell that still can ring,_

_Forget your perfect offering,_

_There is a crack, a crack in everything,_

_That's how the light gets in._

_Across the seas and skies of blue,_

_The light shines on and will always shine true,_

_There is a crack, a crack even in you,_

_That's how the light gets in."_

There was silence as my last note rang out. No one spoke, no one moved. Was I really that bad? I'd always thought that I had an above average voice.

"Beautiful," whispered Aristos, wiping his eyes on the back of his bejewelled sleeve. "Simple beautiful. You've clearly inherited your mother's voice, Lance. She would have been so proud if she could have seen you sing her song like that tonight."

"Thank you," I said, slightly taken aback at his comment. "That means lot me."

The sound of my voice seemed to break the audience out of their trance and they began to clap wildly, whistling, cheering and chanting my name. The buzzer went off, signalling the end of my time with Aristos. Aristos got graciously out of his chair and actually gave me a hug as he wished my luck for the Games. I patted his back awkwardly, not really sure what to make of this, and walked back to my seat.

"You have an amazing voice," the District 5 girl whispered to me as I sat down. "I got shivers just listening to it."

"Thanks," I replied, giving her a small smile. "My mother had that affect on people too."

"Aristos was right; she would have been proud of you tonight-"

"-Miss Evelyn Jenkins!"

"Oh, that's me!" squealed the girl from Five as she jumped up out of her seat. "Nice talking to you."

I smiled and shook my head as Evelyn skipped towards Aristos. She was such a sweet girl. But no amount of sweetness could save her from the horrors of the Hunger Games. I just hoped that I wouldn't be the one to kill her.

Evelyn's interview approach was to be a naïve, innocent young girl. I have to admit, she played that part rather well. I guess that's because she was being herself.

"Zach's a cool guy," she replied when Aristos asked her about her district partner. "I've seen him around school, but I never really spoke to him until we were reaped. I'm glad to have him in an alliance. He's definitely someone I would trust with my life."

Aristos smiled and said, "So you have an alliance then? Could you tell us if there's anyone else in it with you."

"Sorry, can't say," she replied with a wink. "But you'll find out soon enough. I don't want to ruin the surprise for everyone. Isn't that what the Games are about? Surprises?"

Well not really, but the audience loved her comment anyway, clapping and cheering for her. Evelyn smiled and waved at them, enjoying the attention.

"Well, judging from the tributes we've seen tonight, I'm sure these Games will be full of surprises!

The audience cheered again and Aristos turned back to Evelyn, smiling kindly.

"Thank you for joining us tonight, Evelyn," he said, kissing her hand. "It was a pleasure talking to you and all the best of luck for tomorrow."

"It was a pleasure talking to you too," she replied as the buzzer went off. She waved to the audience one last time. "Thanks for listening everyone!"

The roar of the crowd was deafening as Evelyn walked back to her seat. They really seemed to love her, but then again, who wouldn't. Hopefully they loved her enough to sponsor her in the Games.

Tributes without sponsors die quickly.

**I dropped a few hints as to what to expect from the Games in this chapter. Did you catch them all? **

**Thanks for reading and please review! I'd really like to know if you guys are actually still reading this. If you are, thanks for reading!**


	17. Chapter 16: The Interviews Part 2

**Shay Allerisa, District 10 (12)**

"You nervous?" whispered Brax as we sat listening to the District 5 boy's interview. "You look like you're about to faint."

I nodded. "Yeah," I admitted shakily. "I've never spoken in front of so many people before. What if they all think I'm an idiot and I get no sponsors?"

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Brax said assuringly, giving my hand a squeeze. "They're going to love you. You're such a sweet little girl, how could they not? Besides, it could never be worse than Naomi's interview. Seriously, how stupid did she sound?"

"But they all laughed anyway. And even if she doesn't get any sponsors, she'll do okay in the Games 'cause she's in with the Careers. I have no one."

Brax looked away awkwardly. I could tell he felt bad about not inviting me to join his little Career-hunting alliance. He said it was because I was so small and would only get hurt, but I knew the others thought I was weak and would probably die in the bloodbath. The only reason that Aluma girl got in with them was because her strong district partner flat out refused to go without her. I wished that my district partner had been that strong-willed. Thanks to him, I'm going in all alone.

But I decided not to let it get to me. Forgive and forget. Besides, I probably would have done the same thing if I was in that position. This is about survival after all.

Back in the centre of the stage, Aristos was saying goodbye to Zach and introducing the next tribute.

"This next girl really caught our eyes at the District 6 reaping, and she continued to keep our attention with her memorable fog-filled chariot ride and her unbelievably high training score. Ladies and gentlemen, Lexus Annette Deryl!"

The tough-looking girl from District 6 rose from her chair and made her way to centre stage. She greeted Aristos and the audience politely, smiling widely the entire time and sat down, getting comfortable by crossing her long legs over each other. She looked very confident, comfortable even, with being in the lime light, and the audience seemed to realise this straight away because they took to her instantly. Or maybe it was because of how beautiful she looked in her floor-length scarlet dress. I'd always found Lexi rather frightening, but she looked quite approachable, almost girly, in her dress, especially with her long hair flowing loosely over her shoulders instead of up in its usual pony tail. I couldn't help but admire her.

"First off," began Aristos after they'd greeted each other, "I'd first like to say that your reaping was one of the bravest things I've ever seen. You volunteered for your cousin, am I correct?"

Lexi nodded, smiling at the cameras. "Yes, I volunteered for my cousin, Rebecca," she replied, not looking the slightest big regretful at her decision, "and I would do it all over again, given the chance." The audience reacted well to her words, screaming and whistling as Lexi grinned. "My family has always been really close, and I would volunteer for any of them. I've always been a fighter; I've always been able to look out for myself. Rebecca is the sweetest girl in the world and would never fare well in the Hunger Games. She can't even kill a spider. Besides, my family is quite poor and Becca makes most of our money. Without her, we'd starve."

"So not only did you save Rebecca," Aristos said gravely, "but you saved the rest of your family too. So tell us, what exactly does Rebecca do to keep you all alive. She must be quite talented for someone so young to be supplying for such a large family."

I had no idea how Aristos knew the number of people in Lexi's family, but that seemed to be the last thing on Lexi's mind when she gave her reply.

"We don't like to talk about it," she said quickly, looking away. "Some things are best left unsaid."

"Fair enough, fair enough," answered Aristos, lifting his hands up in a form of submission. "Let's ask another question then, shall we? So you scored a nine in training, an almost unheard of feat from someone in an outlaying district. Tell us, has your high training score changed your views on the Games?"

"I guess you can say that it's made me a bit more confident," she said with a small shrug. "But I've had a plan in my mind even before coming to the Capitol and I tend to stick with it."

"I know this is a bit of a long shot," Aristos said as the crowd began to cheer again, "but can you give us a hint of what you've got in store for us as the audience?"

"Let's just say that, if my plan succeeds, the odds for us tributes will be evened out a little bit more."

"Ah Lexus, you're going to keep us guessing right up until you step into the arena tomorrow!"

Lexi laughed and said, "That's all part of the fun."

I couldn't imagine anything less fun, but clearly the Capitol thought the opposite. They cheered and cheered until Lexi's buzzer finally went off and she returned to her seat. She fist-bumped Vitz as she sat down, whispering something to him as he got ready to stand up. His interview was next.

"With a training score of eight, you can't help but think that this next tribute is a real fighter. But how much do we really know about him? Ladies and gents, please welcome to the stage...Mr Vitz Morales!"

Vitz leapt enthusiastically out of his seat and strode confidently towards Aristos, waving at the audience as he walked. He was a completely different character to the depressed boy I saw sitting against the wall yesterday.

"Thank you Aristos, it's great to be here," he said as Aristos shook his hand in greeting. "And can I just say, the audience is especially wonderful tonight!"

Of course, the audience loved this. That clapped and screamed until Aristos was forced to get up out of his chair to quiet them down.

"So Vitz," he said as he took his seat again, "I couldn't help noticing that the camera showed some shots of a very distressed looking young lady during your reaping. Would you mind telling us a bit more about her?"

I remembered the girl. The rather pretty, brown haired, green eyed, girl who was completely frozen with shock as she watched the father of her child walk up to the stage. It saddened me to think that people knew about the couple's condition, that girl wasn't exactly trying to hide it, but still no one spoke up. No one volunteered for Vitz even though they knew his new family needed him. It was sick.

"Her name's Corolla," he said, attempting to remain good natured. "She's my girlf- She's my fiancée."

"And I bet she's sitting in front of her TV now, supporting you all the way."

"I sure hope she's sitting," Vitz replied darkly. "The baby's due any day now."

The crowd gasped. Really, they didn't know the girl was pregnant? How stupid were they? It's not like they didn't show her picture about a thousand times. She even held her bloated stomach as she watched in horror as Vitz went up on stage. How much more obvious could you get?

"Ah yes, the baby," Aristos said sadly. "That scene alone was enough to put me in a sad mood for the rest of the day."

"Yeah, I wasn't too crazy about it either." The crowd laughed and Vitz gave them a half hearted smile. "But there isn't much I can do about it now, is there?"

Aristos took Vitz's hand. "Oh course there is," he said, nodding at him. "You could win. You could win and get home to your sweetheart and your child. What's the name of the baby?"

"Her name's Celica," he replied, smiling at the thought of his little girl. "And trust me; I'll be doing all I can to get back home again."

The audience cheered again. Vitz's story made me want to root for him. I really wanted him to get back home to his family. Well, that was until I remembered that for him to get home, I would have to die. I didn't want to die.

"We have about thirty seconds left," Aristos said as he leaned back in his chair. "Is there anything else you'd like to say before our time is up?"

"Yeah." Vitz turned away from Aristos and looked straight into the camera. "Corolla," he said, smiling, "I know you're watching this. Listen, you'd better be taking good care of yourself, you hear me? None of that no eating business I know you do when you're upset. You have Celica to think about now, got it? Remember what I said in the Justice Building? You're going to be a great mom and I expect to see a happy, healthy little girl when I come home in a few weeks. I love you."

The audience broke into applause as Vitz finished speaking. Even some of the tributes began to clap, namely Lexi and the girl from District 7. I wanted to clap too, but I remained frozen in my seat. My interview was coming up soon and I was completely terrified. I could remember nothing about what my mentor had told me to say. What was I going to do?  
"This next tribute also had quite a memorable reaping," Aristos said enthusiastically. "She even got a volunteer, but did she take it? Not a chance! Ladies and gentlemen, Capri Arello!"

The District 7 girl who was clapping for Vitz got up and started to walk towards Aristos. A whistle from the ring of tributes halted her progress, and she turned around and hissed, "Whistle at me one more time District 1, and I'll rip out every strand of hair on your little blond head!"

Unfortunately for her, she was in shot of the microphones and her comment was caught and could be heard all around the room.

"Wow," said Aristos, slightly taken aback as Capri sat down, "well aren't you a vicious little thing."

"Sorry," Capri replied, smiling sweetly. "That boy has been whistling at me all night. It irritates me."

"I don't blame him though," said Aristos with a cheerful smile. "You do look particularly stunning."

"Why thank you. My stylist really did a great job, didn't she?"

The roar from the audience was answer enough. Under any other circumstance, I would have admired Capri's dress. I was just so nervous about my interview. I couldn't mess it up. My life depended on it.

Once Capri's interview was finished, Aristos went on to introduce the girl from District 8, Angela. She had a particularly sad story; about being an orphan and having just found happiness in her miserable life before being reaped. My heart sank a little when I thought about her poor newly-adopted parents watching the interviews on TV, hoping and praying that the little girl they might never see again would get home safely.

Following Angela was her unimpressive district partner and then the skinny girl from Nine; the one who was always playing with that little wooden ball and after her, charming as ever, was her strong district partner, Lee. He didn't even have to try to make the audience love him. People just gravitated towards him, especially girls. Those three girls in the front row who checked out Seni earlier looked especially interested, each one of them sitting right on her edge of her seat and smiling up at him. Lee took no notice of them at all.

All too soon, Aristos was saying goodbye to Lee. Oh no, it was my turn.

"All right everyone," Aristos said, drawing back the audience's attention after Lee's successful interview. "You've already met one of our 12-year-olds, so let's meet the other one! All the way from District 10, ladies and gentlemen, Shay Allerisa!"

My legs wouldn't move. I could hear the applause, I could see Aristos turning to welcome me to the stage, but yet my legs still wouldn't move. I was completely terrified.

"Go on," whispered Brax, giving me a small push. "You'll do great, I promise."

I didn't catch much of what he was saying, but Brax's push got my legs moving and I began to walk forward.

"Here she is!" cried Aristos as I came into view. "And looking as beautiful as ever. Please Shay, have a seat, have a seat. I can't wait to chat with you."

I was shaking so badly as I sat down, so badly that my teeth were knocking together as if I was cold. I tried to calm myself down, but it was no use. Nothing I could do was ever going to make myself comfortable in that situation.

"Don't be nervous," said Aristos kindly, taking my hand. "We're all friends here." Yeah, friends who can't wait to see me get killed. "You can talk to us. Don't worry."

I gave a small nod, still not speaking. What was I doing? I was already off to a bad start. No one would want to sponsor me if I acted like a complete baby. This was bad, very bad, and but thinking about how bad this was, it made me even more nervous. I thought I was going to throw up.

"Let's talk about you for a bit, Shay," Aristos said in the same kind voice he used earlier. "You're from District 10, correct?"

I nodded, still not speaking.

"I've heard District 10 is a beautiful place to live," he continued as I remained silence. "Can you tell us a bit more about it?"

A direct question. This one I had to answer. I knew what he was doing and appreciated it greatly. He was trying to make me more comfortable in front of the audience by allowing me to talk about my home. I hoped his idea would work.

"T-there's lots of mountains," I began, stuttering slightly. "L-lots of mountains and valleys. The animals graze in the valleys. Everything there is so green."

"Do you like the colour green?" Aristos asked, smiling at me.

I nodded. "Yes," I replied. "It reminds me of home and makes me happy."

"Then I'm sure you love the dress you're wearing tonight. And what a beautiful shade of green it is!"

I nodded again. "Jasmine did a great job on the dress. I love it to bits."

The audience awwwed at my last comment and my heart lifted. Maybe I did have a chance of getting sponsors after all.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked suddenly, feeling more confident from the audience's reaction.

"Uh, sure," Aristos answered, surprised. The audience just laughed. "Ask away?"

"What's your favourite colour?"

More laughter from the audience. Good.

Aristos paused, pretending to think for a few seconds. "I'm going to have to say, purple," he said thoughtfully. "Audience, how many of you like purple?"

The roar that came up from that question was deafening. Clearly a lot of people out there like the colour purple. Or maybe they were just happy to be addressed directly by Aristos. Either way, I didn't really care. At least they were cheering during my interview.

The rest of the interview went off without a hitch. The audience awwwed and applauded at just about everything I said. They obviously thought I was quite, which was good because that was pretty much the only thing I had going for me. No wonder my mentor told me to take the cute and innocent approach.

Brax congratulated me as I sat back down after my interview was over. I smiled gratefully at him, so happy that my moment in the spotlight was over. And that I hadn't messed it up.

Brax's name was called and he quickly got up and jogged to the middle of the stage. His angle was to be a mysterious, but alluring country boy and I had to admit, he played it rather well. Brax was a nice guy, but he was so serious all the time. It was hard to figure out just what exactly he was thinking about. I don't think he smiled during his entire interview. Didn't really matter, the audience loved him anyway.

"This next tribute got the highest training score ever from a District 11 female," Aristos began as soon as Brax left the stage. "I don't know about you, but I'm just dying to meet her. Ladies and gents, I give you, Miss Lara Anders!"

I turned my head to get a better look at Lara as she left her seat. She was dressed in a short, fitted indigo dress which showed her toned body nicely. There was no question about how her stylist wanted to portray here. She was strong all the way.

Lara didn't bother greeting Aristos as she sat down, not even thanking him for his compliment about her dress. She just sat there, incredibly still and glaring at everyone.

"So Lara," said Aristos, recovering from the initial surprise of her coldness. "Are you enjoying your stay in the Capitol so far? I'm sure it's very different from District 11."

"I hate it here," Lara replied shortly. "It's all so stupid. The clothes, the buildings, the people. Everything."

"Okay then..."

Aristos trailed off, unsure of what to say next. I don't think he's ever come into contact with a tribute as hostile as Lara before. I tried not to laugh. Lara really wasn't all that bad. She joined me for lunch in the training centre when I was eating alone and she even showed me the basics of knife throwing. I actually quite liked her, even though no one else really did.

"Tell us Lara," Aristos said after his brief pause, struggling to take control of the situation again, "how are you feeling about your high training score? A nine is pretty much unheard of in District 11, isn't it? You must have been pretty proud of yourself."

Lara shrugged. "Not really," she replied, still glaring at Aristos. "I don't think these training scores are accurate. The Gamemakers hardly pay attention to you anyway! They're stupid, they're lazy and they're more interested in their silly little wine glasses than any of the tributes that are trying to show them just what they can do. I think I only got the score I did because of the way I look."

Silence met Lara's remark. Even the other tributes, the ones that actually knew Lara from being shut up in the training centre with her, looked shocked. No tribute has openly said these things about the Capitol before. They'd be sure to get her back for it in the arena.

Aristos began to speak, but Lara cut him off. "Can't you silly Capitol people see what's wrong with this?" she shouted, addressing the audience this time. "To you, this is all a fun game, but for us, the tributes, it's far from it. Thanks to you, we're all going to die. All of us, even the victor." She glared at them, challenging anyone to speak up. "You're all sick, and I refuse to play your silly little game any longer!"

The buzzer went off, cutting Lara's interview short by at least one and a half minutes. Everyone was in complete shock. Just what was that? Is she crazy? She'd be killed for this for sure! But even so, I couldn't help enjoying the show. I suppressed a giggle. The outlaying districts must be loving this! To them, Lara would be a hero! I guess that's why the Capitol wanted her off the stage as quickly as possible. Wouldn't want to show someone blatantly defying them, would they? No one clapped as Lara marched off the stage. The audience was too shocked not too. Then a single clap rang out. But it wasn't from the audience.

Capri had stood up from her seat and was looking straight at Lara. She didn't smile, but she was clapping for her, showing respect for what Lara had done. Soon Capri's district partner was standing too, followed by the girl from Twelve and the spiky-haired, blond boy besides her. Lexi and Vitz were on their feet too, their faces free from any expression as they applauded Lara. Lee and Aluma were next, closely followed by Zach and Evelyn. Even Nic stood up to clap for Lara. He tried to pull Sierra up with him, but she refused and crossed her arms. Well that wasn't surprising. It wasn't a secret how much she disliked Lara. Maddie stood up too, the last of the Careers to stand, though Lance did clap silently in his lap. Naomi just looked annoyed, but I took no notice of her as I stood up too, clapping wildly for Lara. Lara grinned at us as she sat down, looking rather pleased with herself. I respected everything she'd done up there on the stage, but I still couldn't shake off the bad feeling I got whenever I looked at her. Lara was a smart girl and I knew that she was more than capable of looking after herself, but what she'd done out there was very risky. And the Capitol certainly didn't like it. She'd just signed her down death warrant.

**Vee Clesta, District 12**

I was still in shock over Lara's interview when the boy from District 11 was called up to speak. I couldn't believe that had just happened. No tribute had ever pulled something like that before. Ever. I definitely admired her bravery; to say all those things that most of us were thinking, but too afraid to say. Truth be told, I thought she was crazy. Brave, but still crazy. I wouldn't want to be stuck with her in the arena. There's no telling what she'd do next.

I suppressed a smile as I thought about my friends back home in District 12. They must have loved Lara's interview! I could just imagine them clutching their sides, weak from laughing at Aristos and the audience's reaction to everything that crazy girl had said. I would probably be too, if I wasn't on this stage in front of the whole country that is.

"Thank you so much for your time, Seeder," Aristos was saying to the boy on stage. "It was great chatting to you and all the best for tomorrow!"

The District 11 boy's interview was over, which only meant one thing. I was up next.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we come to our final district of the night! Please put your hands together and welcome to the stage the lovely Miss Vee Clesta!"

I got up from my seat as gracefully as I could, which was quite a feat considering what I was wearing. My stylist had put me in a long, strapless silver dress which felt like it was going to fall down every time I moved. It had a long slip up the side and exposed most of my right leg with each step I took. Even so, I loved the dress. The contrast between the bright silver and my olive skin was amazing, not to mention how striking my flat-ironed, dark red hair looked against it. I thin silver circlet had also been placed on my head, shining out brightly as the lights from the stage reflected off it. I could see my picture on the large screen behind the stage as I walked forward. I didn't look like myself at all.

"Vee!" Aristos cried as I neared. "So nice to finally meet you! You might not believe this, but I've been waiting all night to get the chance to talk to you! You look absolutely stunning in that dress!"

"Thank you, Aristos," I said as charmingly as I could, sitting down and folding my hands in my lap. "I've been waiting all night to talk to you too."

The audience laughed and began to applaud. They thought it was incredibly amusing that I'd said that. Of course I'd been waiting all night to speak to Aristos! Isn't that why we're all here?

"Ah Vee," Aristos sighed as he finished laughing, "you are quite amusing. Quite charming too."

Well that's a first. I know people find me funny sometimes, I'm definitely sarcastic enough, but charming? No one had ever called me that before. My friend Haymitch had once said that I had the same amount of charm as a dead slug. Nice.

"Thank you," I said, smiling at Aristos while the audience applauded. "You're quite charming yourself."

"So I've been told." The audience laughed again and Aristos waited from them to quieten before continuing. "So Vee, we're all dying to know more about this witty young girl with the fiery red hair. Would you tell us a bit about your life back in District 12?"

"Oh where do I begin?" I exclaimed, more to the audience than to Aristos. "Well at home it's just me, my father and my little sister, Torii. She's actually in the same class as my district partner over there." I pointed towards where Killian was sitting. I couldn't help noticing how nervous he was looking.

"Are they friends?" Aristos asked, looking over at Killian too.

I snorted. "Far from. He's quite the annoying little bugger. Always pulling her hair and such." I paused, looking over at Killian again. "But even so, she asked me to promise that I'd try to keep him alive as long as I could. I have no intention of breaking that promise."

The audience awwwed and Killian gave me a grateful smile. Aristos started to speak as soon as the noise had stopped.

"What about your friends then? Tell us about them?"

"I have three best friends," I explained. "Morda, who's probably the most out-going girl I know, Seamus, the loudest, but most loyal, guy I've ever met and Haymitch. I swear, there is no one on Earth more sarcastic than he is."

"They sound like really great people," enthused Aristos as I finished describing my friends. "Just the kind of people that I'd like to meet. Did they give you any good advice when they came to say goodbye to you?"

I nodded. "Well, they gave me advice, but as for 'good advice', I'm not sure it fits the criteria."

"Oh, tell us anyway!"

The audience cheered again and I began to speak.

"Morda's advice to me was not to wear my combat boots to the Capitol. Do you remember them? I wore them with my white reaping dress."

The audience began to cheer. Confused I looked up to see a picture of me on my reaping day broadcasted across the giant screens all over the room. And there they were, my beloved combat boots.

"Yes, those ones!" I said happily, pointing up at the screen. "Morda said they wouldn't be fancy enough for the Capitol, but I wore them anyway." A few people in the audience laughed. "Seamus thought I should wear my boots, make a statement and so on, but his real advice to me was how I should handle the bloodbath tomorrow. Grab some knives and run for my life." The audience murmured their approval and I continued. "Haymitch's advice was pretty simple.'Stay alive'. Oh and run like hell," I added as an after thought. "He definitely said something along those lines."

"You're friends seem like that give good advice," said Aristos, smiling warmly at me. "Let's just hope it will be enough to keep you alive."

Wow, way to bring down the mood.

"I hope so too," I replied, trying to keep up my smile. "We'll just have to wait and see."

The buzzer went off. Aristos thanked me for my time, wished me luck and sent me back to my seat. He seemed a little tired as he said goodbye. I don't blame him; it had been a long night.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he said, quickly shaking off his tiredness and leaping up from his seat. "You've seen twenty-three stunning young men and women tonight! Are you ready to meet our final tribute?"

Thunderous applause broke out, people jumping up from their seat, screaming and whistling. They didn't look tired at all. Unlike me. I just wanted to get back upstairs to my bed. One more to go.

"Give it up for our final tribute of the evening, Mr Killian Traaaaaaaaaaaaaaagster!"

Killian got up from his seat, but on a brave face and stroke out towards Aristos, grinning cheekily to the audience and waving wildly the whole time. They seemed to love this and clapped louder.

"Killian! Good to see you!" said Aristos, shaking Killian's hand firmly as he sat down. "Vee certainly said some interesting things about you tonight. Care to comment?"

Killian grinned. "Yeah," he said, turning to face me. "Vee, I find you annoying too and if you were as small as your sister, I'd pull your hair too!" The audience laughed at this, but quickly stopped as Killian began to speak again. "Even so," he said slowly. "I appreciate the help you're giving me. It's something that I know I'll never be able to repay." He looked straight into the camera. "Thank you Torii," he shouted, addressing my sister directly. "I didn't know you cared so much. Looks like you don't find me _that_ annoying after all."

The audience's response was mixed, some awwwing and some besides them selves with laughter. I wasn't quite sure how to react either, so I just smiled and gave Killian a small wave.

"So you know Vee's little sister quite well then," said Aristos, chuckling. "She's fun to annoy, yes?"

"Oh the best!" admitted Killian, grinning again. "Her reactions are always so priceless!"

"Sounds to me like someone has a little crush."

Killian's face went tomato-red and his expression was one of complete and utter shock. He looked so awkward, it was brilliant! Oh I was never going to let that go.

"No way!" he cried, still blushing. "Torii Clesta is the last girl in the world I'd ever have a crush on!"

"Spoken like a true 13-year-old boy with a crush."

I didn't think this was possible, but Killian's cheeks went even redder. It was honestly the funniest thing I'd ever seen! I thought that I was going to die from laughter. Looking around, I could tell that I wasn't the only tribute canning herself. Lexi from District 6 was laughing so hard that tears were running down her face and Evelyn from District 5 had her face buried in Zach's shoulder, shaking from silent laughter. Oh I was definitely never going to let this go. Torii must be having a great time hearing all of this. I wished I could have seen her reaction.

"Okay, okay," Aristos panted, trying to regain composure again. "I believe you." He winked, which sent everyone into hysterics again. God it was hilarious.

"But now on a more serious note," said Aristos when everyone had calmed down enough to hear what he was saying, "Killian, tell us a bit more about your stay in the Capitol. Is the food here nice? Did you learn anything interesting in the training centre?"

_Buzzzz!_

Out of time already? Killian's interview had hardly begun! I guess we must have spent more time laughing at him that I'd thought.

"And we're out of time!" cried Aristos, throwing up his hands. "Thank you for joining us here tonight Killian! I very much enjoyed talking to you." He winked. "Now if you win the Games, Torii will have to choice but to go out with you! Doesn't that sound good?"

"I don't have a crush on Torii Clesta!"

The laughter started up again as Killian made his way back to his seat. I smirked at him.

"Well that was interesting," I remarked, raising my eyebrows.

"Oh shut up," he muttered, slumping down in his chair. "I never want to speak of this moment again."

I laughed. "Oh, we're going to be speaking about this a lot..."

He groaned and turned away from me. I laughed again and began to pay attention to what was happening on the stage again. Aristos was speaking.

"And there you have it!" he cried, motioning to us tributes. "The twenty-four tributes of the 49th annual Hunger Games!" The audience applauded again, cheering louder that they had cheered the entire night. "Tomorrow, they will all enter the arena and only one will make it back out again. Who will it be? You'll have to wait and see! Good night everybody!"

_Knock, knock, knock._

I groaned and rolled over, ignoring the persistent knocking on the bedroom door. I'm not a morning person. At all. My escort learned that lesson the hard way when he barged in here at 6:00am, singing cheerfully at me to get out of bed and have some breakfast. The alarm clock I threw at his head left a nasty mark.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Nooooo. I didn't want to get up. I was so comfortable, so warm. Getting up was the last thing on my mind. Especially today. The day of the Games.

_Knock, knock, knock._

"Go away," I snarled, slamming my pillow over my head. "Leave me alone."

"Vee, it's me. Let me in."

"Killian?"

What the hell was he doing here? I sat up in bed and looked over at the clock they'd so nicely repaired after it hit my escort's thick head. I had to rub my eyes to make sure I was reading the right time.

3:04am.

"It's bloody three 'o clock in the bloody morning," I groaned, dropping back down onto my pillows again. "Go to sleep."

"I can't sleep."

"Well try harder!"

Yeah, I guess my reply was a little harsh, but like I said before, I'm not a morning person. I'm more of an I'll-rip-your-bloody-head-off-if-you-wake-me-up-this-early person.

"I did," said Killian in a small voice. "I really did try. But it's not working. I just need someone to talk to."

Under any usual circumstance, my reply would have been something like, "Okay, well we've talked now. Leave me the hell alone," but I think it was Killian's voice that made me sigh and get out of bed. He sounded so small, so weak. I was reminded that he was just a kid.

"Move it," I grumbled irritable, opening the door wider for him to come through. "I'm getting cold."

Killian smiled at me gratefully and made a bee-line straight for my bed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said as he sad himself comfortable amongst my pillows. "Hold up! Just what do you think you're doing? Get out of my bed."

Killian smiled up at me cheekily. "But it's so warm in here." he whined. "Please let me stay. Don't pretend like you're not lonely in here."

Well he was right about that. Now that I thought about it, I was actually feeling a little bit lonely. Especially when I thought about what tomorrow was going to be like.

"Fine," I mumbled, shutting the door and walking back to my bed. "You can stay. Put move over. You're in my spot."

Killian was happy to oblige. He shifted over and soon we were both lying down comfortably. My eyes were closed and I was just about to drop off to sleep again, when an annoying little voice broke the silence.

"Vee, are you awake?"

"No, I'm sleeping," was my irritable reply. "What do you want now?"

"Did you really mean what you said earlier?" he asked, his voice sounding small again. "About how you'd try to help me."

I sighed. "I meant every word. I'm going to keep my promise to Torii."

"You know, I don't actually have a crush on her."

"Sure you don't."

Killian growled and rolled over, facing away from me. I laughed quietly, picturing his little red face in my head. Pity I couldn't see his expression in the darkness.

"You'd make a good pair, you two," I said suddenly. "You're a lot more similar than you think you are. I could definitely see you guys together in a few years." No reply from Killian. I sighed. "I don't think I'll ever get to see Torii happy with someone now. I won't be there for her wedding; I won't be there for her first child. I'm never going to see my sister again. Or my father. Or my friends-"

A soft snore interrupted my sentence.

That bastard! There I was, pouring my heart out to him and he just falls asleep! What nerve! I grabbed my pillow and I was just about to whack him over the head when I had second thoughts. The kid needed his sleep, that much was true. Tomorrow was going to be a big day for us all and it wouldn't do us any good if we were half asleep. As much as Killian annoyed me, he was still quite a sweet kid. Well, when he was alone with you. Torii should have given him more of a chance.

Smiling, I dropped my pillow and lay back down again. Despite how afraid I was for the next day, I fell asleep almost instantly. I didn't dream that night

"Arm."

I winced at the lady poked the long needle into my arm, injecting me with my tracker. I won't lie, it hurt like hell. The District 1 boy besides me sneered at me as I rubbed my arm, already marking me down as weak. I just glared at him.

All the tributes were in the hovercraft, strapped into chairs in two neat rows lining the walls. An ugly lady was walking up and down the row, sticking that damn needle into every tribute's arm. I was happy to see that I wasn't the only one who winced.

It was quiet in the hovercraft, save for the stern voice of the ugly lady commanding us to hold our arm out for her. Not a single noise was made from any tribute, not even the Careers who looked so excited the day before. The atmosphere was tense, nervous even, and many of the tributes looked sick. I certainly felt sick.

The boy from District 1 was sitting on my left, his face hard and expressionless. Evelyn was on my right, clutching tightly to her district partner's hand as he stroked her hair comfortingly. Directly opposite me was the skinny District 9 girl, fiddling with her little wooden ball like she always did when she was nervous. Next to her was Capri, who looked like she was about to throw up. She caught my eye and smiled. I returned her smile and she closed her eyes, breathing deeply. Sierra was sitting next to Capri, her usual smirk absent from her face as she held tightly to her brother's hand. Nic looked indifferent, but I guess that's because he already knew he was going to die. He wanted to. On Capri's other side was Lance, the male tribute from District 4, who was sitting with his eyes closed. And next to him was Killian.

I tried to catch his eye, but he seemed to be looking everywhere but at me. Even though he was trying his best to hide it, it was obvious that he was shaking. The boy next to him, Lee from District 9, noticed this too and patted him on the back. Killian looked up at him in shock, surprised that someone wanted to comfort him, and then looked directly at me. I smiled at him, nodding encouragingly, my silent way so telling him that everything would be all right. Even though I wasn't.

Before I knew it, we had landed and the ugly lady was herding us out of the hovercraft. Like sheep. Like lambs to the slaughter. We were met by Peacekeepers who took us to our individual holding rooms where we were expected to wait until it was time to enter our tubes. As soon as they'd walked out and closed the door, I ran to the adjoining bathroom and threw up. This was it. It was really happening. I was going into the arena.

I felt a pair of hands gently sweep my hair away from my face and hold it behind my head as I threw up. I was a bit embarrassed, but I couldn't move anyway. I put my head on the side of the toilet and began to cry.

"There, there," said my stylist, Melody, gently. "It's going to be okay. You'll see."

I didn't speak, but I allowed Melody to pull me to my feet and force the tip of a water bottle between my lips. I drank gratefully.

"It all seems so real now," I sobbed, holding onto Mel as she stroked my hair. "I'm going into the arena today. I'm going to die."

Mel pulled me away and held me at arms length. "Do not say things like that," she said sternly, her grey eyes staring into mind. "You're a survivor, you'll see. I know you, you're smarter than all the tributes in that arena put together."

I smiled weakly and wiped my eyes. "That's exactly what my father said to me when he came to say goodbye."

"You're father's a smart man. Make him proud."

I nodded and turned away from Mel, finding myself starting at my outfit for the arena. This year, the tributes would be dressed sandy-green cargo pants with a light brown, short sleeved shirt. A pair of combat boots, nearly like the pair I left behind in the training centre, was propped up against the wall underneath an over sized, dark green jacket. Just where exactly were we going?

"Expect some cold nights," said Mel as she helped me into my jacket. "This jacket is heat reflective. Judging by the rest of your outfit, the weather is probably going to get quite hot during the day. Under no circumstance do you let go of your jacket, understand? I've seen too many tributes freeze to death because they underestimated the weather."

I nodded and took a deep breath. "I won't," I said quietly, fingering the delicate silver ring I'd brought as I district token. "I'll remember. Thanks for all your help."

"_Thirty seconds."_

Mel pulled me into a hug and held me close. I clutched at her jacket, trying my best not to cry. This was it. It was really happening now. Only thirty seconds away.

"Good luck Vee," she whispered into my hair. "I believe in you. Come back."

"_Twenty seconds."_

"I don't want to go!" I cried, holding tighter to Melony's jacket. "Please Mel, don't let them take me!"

"_Ten seconds."_

"Shhhh," said Mel soothingly, prising my fingers from her jacket and leading me towards my tube. "It's going to be okay. You're a fighter. Just get the hell out of the bloodbath the moment you can."

I nodded silently. There was nothing I could say.

"_Five seconds."_

The door of the tube slid shut and I was blocked from Mel. She had her one hand up against the glass and I knew she was talking to me, even though I couldn't hear her words. I smiled sadly and lifted my hand and put it on the glass behind hers.

"_Four seconds. Three, two, one."_

The tube shuddered under my feat and a looked at Mel fearfully. She nodded encouragingly as I began to move upwards, even blowing me a kiss. I smiled and wiped my eyes. I was not going to look like I'd been crying when I entered the arena. I was going to be strong. And when I died, I was going to die strong too.

I saw bright sunlight above me and soon the tube had broken the surface of the ground. Standing on my small silver platform, I looked around at the other tributes. They all looked pretty much how I was feeling. Then I looked around at the arena. I gasped.

This was like no place I had ever seen before. Well, I guess I'd seen it, but only in really old books that we sometimes get to look at for research on the Old World in school. I never thought that I'd be seeing this place with my own eyes and, if I wasn't just about to die, I would have been captivated by the beauty of this long lost world. As I looked around the arena, there was no question to what the Gamemakers had based in on this year.

Africa.

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Interviews are very important and I wanted to remind you about some of the tributes that you may have forgotten. Oh and I also wanted to give you a little taste of the arena! What do you think? I full description will be given in the next chapter.**

**Just a reminder to check my profile for sponsorship details and to vote for your favourite tributes on my poll.**

**Also remember that I love reviews :) I love knowing what you guys liked and what you want to see more of. Any ideas are welcome too, so don't be shy to suggest things. **

**Lastly...I've picked the winner! It was done randomly (picked a piece of paper) and I'm pretty happy with the name I received. Now I know in what direction I want to take this story. **

**Thanks to all who have reviewed and added me to their alert and favourites list! Much appreciated. **


	18. Chapter 17: Bloodbath

**Aluma Barric, District 9**

I knew we only had one minute to survey our surroundings. One minute, sixty seconds, and then all hell was going to break loose. I needed to get to Lee. He'd keep me safe. He promised.

_Fifty-seven, fifty-six..._

The heat was the first thing that hit me. The stifling hot sun bore down on us from the clear blue sky and I felt myself break out in a sweat almost instantly. I wanted nothing more than to shrug off my heavy dark green jacket, but I kept it on, knowing that I would need it later.

Tall, yellow grass surrounded us on all sides, stretching out to the distant blue horizon. To my right, the land was mostly flat, sloping slightly downwards as it reached a narrow river. I did a double take as I caught sight of the creatures dozing lazily in the shallows. Giant, green lizard like things like nothing I'd ever seen before. I had no idea what they could possibly be, but I knew they had to be dangerous. Well I certainly wasn't heading in that direction.

The land on my left was flat for about 200 meters. After that, the long grass connected with the base of a steep hill and I couldn't see any further. Save for the few thorny-looking trees dotted around the grass, there really weren't many places to hide.

The Cornucopia was about thirty meters in front of me, the hot sun reflecting off its shiny golden body. Scattered around it were our weapons and survival items, barely visible amongst the tall blades of grass. My blood ran cold as I caught sight of the weapons and that was when it hit me. I was going to die here. Let's face it, compared to Sierra and the other Careers, I really stood no chance. One of those weapons lying around in the grass would eventually kill me. I just hoped it wouldn't hurt too much.

_Forty-four, forty-three..._

Starting to hyperventilate, I reached into my pocket and closed my sweaty fingers around my little wooden ball. It always made me feel better when I was freaking out.

As I drew it out of my jacket, I felt so grateful that I had it. I'd nearly forgotten it in the hovercraft! Luckily, Evelyn had spotted it and had managed to give it to me before the Peacekeepers marched me off to my launching room. Feeling more confident now that I had my ball, I lifted my head to get a better look at the other tributes.

Nic was standing on the metal plate on my left, body tensed and ready to run as soon as the gong went off. On my right was the District 12 girl with the dark red hair. She looked like she'd been crying recently, but she was calm now and also tensed to run. It looked like she'd seen something that she really wanted to get to. Squinting against the glare of the sun, I craned my neck to find Lee, spotting him quickly three tributes to my right. His eyes were scanning over the weapons scattered in the long grass and didn't notice me looking. Next to him was Vitz, who caught my eye and gave me an encouraging smile. That made me feel a bit better; seeing one of my alliance members. I was so glad to be going into the Games with a strong alliance.

_Thirty-six, thirty-five..._

I clutched my wooden ball tightly. My time was almost half way up! No, no, no, no, no, it can't be that soon! Why is this happening to me? Oh no, no, no, this can't be happening! Oh God, why? Why me? Why am I here? I'm a good person; I've never done a bad thing in my life! Please, someone save me. Get me out of here!

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, but it reality; it was over before I could scream.

I felt the little wooden ball slip from my sweaty grip, sliding passed my fingers as I tried, in vain, to catch it again. All I could do was watch in horror as the little ball fell through the air and hit the sandy ground in front my metal plate.

**Evelyn Jenkins, District 5**

Expect the unexpected. That little phrase was the last thing my stylist had said to me before she pushed me into my tube. This is the arena after all; you never know what's going to happen next. Maybe you're walking into an ambush? Maybe they're some dangerous mutts around the next corner? Whatever the situation, it made sense to always be alert; to always be ready. Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.

The explosion was so loud that I jumped with fright and quickly clapped my hands over my ears, nearly falling off my metal plate in the process. Ears ringing, I glanced to my left, the direction where the explosion came from. I was so confused. Just what was that? The countdown hadn't even finished yet! Were they trying to kill us already? The answer became clear much too quickly.

A ball of flames had engulfed a nearby plate, causing the two tributes on either side to shrink as far away as possible from it. Or maybe they weren't shrinking away because of the flames. Maybe it was because they were splattered with mutilated pieces of human flesh, all that remained of the tributes that had been, literally seconds before, standing on that little platform. The look on Vee's face was one of pure horror, her grey eyes wide with shock as the blood from the dead tribute began to drip down her face. Nic looked sick and was clearly trying not to throw up as he flicked a piece of charred flesh from his shoulder.

I looked over the remaining tributes, my head snapping back and fourth until I could work out who has been blown to pieces.

_Please don't let it be Zach. Please don't let it be Zach._

Oh God, the tribute was Aluma.

Aluma. Sweet little Aluma who'd bumped into me on the second day of training. The kind-hearted girl who I'd taught to camouflage herself, who I formed an alliance with. The innocent girl who was always dropping her little wooden ball. The little wooden ball.

Aluma must have dropped the ball of her plate! It must have triggered the mines buried under the ground and blown her sky high! I suddenly felt sick and had to hold my hand to my mouth to keep the vomit down. It was my fault. It was all my fault. I was the one who'd given Aluma her ball back when she left it on the hovercraft. Oh God, I killed her. I killed her!

_Fourteen, thirteen..._

I'd completely forgotten about the timer. It was still going, ticking away, counting back, much to fast for my liking, from sixty to zero. The Gamemakers didn't seem phased at all by what had just happened. Aluma's death meant nothing to them, just good TV. Apparently, little girls getting blown up wasn't a good enough reason to stop the timer. But who was I kidding; of course they weren't going to stop. This is the Hunger Games. The more blood and gore, the better.

_Six, five, four..._

I positioned myself to run. There was no point freaking out about my position now. The Games would begin soon and I would have to run if I didn't want to get killed. I'd always been a terrible runner, by far the worst in my class. Hopefully the adrenaline would kick in quickly.

_Three, two..._

This was it. The moment I'd been dreading all week had finally arrived.

_One..._

The gong rang out, its sound carrying loud and clear through the silence of the arena. Following the gong came another sound, the sound of a high-pitched scream. The tributes around me were so surprised by this noise, that they didn't realise that the gong had gone off and were instead standing frozen on their metal plates, starting in the direction that the noise had come from. Angela, the female tribute from District 8, was screaming her head off as she sprang off her plate and into the yellow grass, sprinting straight towards the Cornucopia. I don't know if it was her plan to distract us all like that, but it sure worked. By the time the rest of us had regained composure; she'd already grabbed a backpack and was darting away.

"What the hell are you all waiting for?" cried Sierra, leaping off her plate and following Angela. "Let's go!"

The tributes around me leapt off their plates and sprinted away in different directions; some towards the Cornucopia, others disappearing into the long grass. There was only one thing going through my mind as I leapt off my plate. Finding Zach.

Sierra was the first to reach the Cornucopia, grabbing a long bow and stringing it with ease. Smirking, she let her arrow fly. The arrow found its mark in the chest of the District 3 boy. He crumpled immediately and fell backwards, a shocked expression on his face. During this time, Nic had also reached the Cornucopia and, as I looked over in horror at Sierra, I could see him patting her on the back, congratulating her on her first kill. He then grabbed a sword and joined the bloody battle that was beginning to unfold around me. Then I saw Zach.

He was sprinting towards me with a very determined look on his face as he clutched a small dagger in his hand. At first I was glad to see him, but then he slammed into me, tackling me to the ground. His dagger grazed the side of my face, drawing a thin line of warm blood that started to drip almost immediately. Oh God, Zach was trying to kill me! There was nothing I could do; he was on top of me. I struggled and struggled, but it was no use. He was too strong. I felt tears leak from the corners of my eyes and I twisted my face away from him. I didn't want him to get the satisfaction of seeing how much his betrayal hurt. Because it did hurt. A lot. I'd expected to die in the arena; I just didn't expect Zach would be the one to kill me. Then I saw the spear hit the ground besides my head.

Zach wasn't trying to kill me! He'd saved me!

Zach rolled off me and pulled me to my feet, dragging me away. I started to run, not looking back to see who'd thrown the spear. I just wanted to get out of there was fast as possible.

"Here," panted Zach, pressing a dagger identical to his into my hand. "You might need this."

I didn't want to have to need it, but I knew he was right. I closed my fist tightly around the dagger and continued to run. We had to find the rest of our alliance quickly. Lexi didn't seem like the type to wait.

Then Zach fell.

I screamed and, because I was holding so tightly to his hand, went down with him. My chin slammed into the ground and I bit down on my tongue hard, the warm blood quickly filling up my mouth and running down my face. Spitting, I twisted around in the sand to see just what caused us to fall. The female tribute from District 3 had grabbed Zach's ankle and was pulling him towards herself with her strong arms, a serrated knife gleaming from between her teeth. Zach was kicking at her, but she still held on fast, reaching back with one hand to grab her knife as she held Zach firmly in place. Zach was panicking, his arms failing wildly around in the yellow grass to find the dagger he'd dropped, but it was no use. It was a good two meters away from him.

Now it was my turn to panic. Zach had just saved my life! I wasn't going to let him die like this.

I sprung to my feet, holding my dagger tightly with two hands and plunged it into the neck of the District 3 girl. She was so transfixed on killing Zach that she hadn't seen me coming until it was too late. I pushed my dagger deeper and deeper into her neck and I felt her body go limp underneath me. Her blood flowed freely over my hands, sticky and wet, but I didn't pull my dagger out. I couldn't.

The girl wasn't dead yet. She'd gone limp, the strength flowing out of her just like her blood, but yet she was still alive. And looking at me. Her bright blue eyes were filled with glistening tears and suddenly I didn't see a monster who wanted to kill my Zach. All I saw was a sad little girl, doing what she had to do to stay alive in this awful situation we were all forced into. And I'd just killed her. Her blue eyes lost focus and she kneeled over sideways, slumping down in the long grass, the blood still pouring from her neck. Oh God, I'd just killed someone.

The rest of the bloodbath was a blur. I remember Zach pulling me to my feet and breaking into a run again, clutching my hand tightly. He'd snatched up the backpack that the dead girl had dropped and was slinging it over his broad shoulders as he ran. We met up with Lee at the base of the hill, the hill where the yellow grass ended that we couldn't see over.

"Lexi and Vitz have just gone over," he shouted at us as we neared. "I was waiting for you. Hurry!"

Zach sped up, pulling me along after him as he followed Lee up the hill. I ran blindly besides him, still in shock over what had just happened. How I'd just killed that girl without thinking. I felt like a monster.

**Braxton "Brax" Cross, District 10**

There are two main things that I've learned in my very short life. One, that people do stupid things when they're scared and, two, that people will just about do anything to save their own lives. I was no exception to this.

Sierra and Nic approached me on our final day of training, asking me to join their alliance. How could I refuse? Nic is a lot bigger than me and a lot more skilled too, and Sierra, well she's just Sierra. I wouldn't last long in the arena if I refused their proposal. I'm not like Lara. I'm not strong enough to stand up to people like them.

I won't lie; the prospect of going into the Hunger Games really scared me. I don't think I'd ever been more afraid of something in my life. So how could I turn down an offer like that? I was basically ensuring my survival. I'd have water, food, protection; basically all a tribute needs to survive in the arena. Sure, my old alliance with Lexi and Vitz was pretty strong, but they had nothing on the Careers. Who were they kidding? They never did. They were stupid for thinking they could ever stand a chance against them. All I did was join the stronger team. The winning team.

Yes, I know what I did was cowardly, but the Games aren't about being brave. They're about winning. And I was going to win no matter what I had to do to achieve it.

Sierra tossed me a spear as I reached the Cornucopia.

"Do your stuff," she said as she strung another arrow onto her bow. "Don't make me regret recruiting you."

Grimacing, I grabbed the spear in both hands and, turning away from the Cornucopia, surveyed the battle. I didn't particularly want to kill someone, but I knew I needed to impress Sierra enough. I didn't want her to change her mind and kill me on the spot. Spotting a target, I drew my arm back and threw the spear towards my unsuspecting victim. I missed. The girl, Capri I think, looked back at me fearfully before turning and sprinting away from the bloodbath. Shit. Sierra would be pissed if she saw that. And I'd lost my spear.

"Yo Brax!"

I turned around just in time to see Nic chucking another spear at me. I caught it neatly in one hand and nodded at him in appreciation.

"Don't let my sister see you miss like that!" he shouted as he rejoined the battle. "You know how she gets."

Yeah, I did know. And I had no intention of missing again.

"Braxton! What are you doing?" Lexi was running towards me, a small green backpack slung over her shoulders and a sword in her hands. "Sierra is right behind you! Run!"

I lifted my spear towards her, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. She skidded to a halt, a confused expression on her bloodied face.

"Not another step," I said as threateningly as I could. "I mean it. Come any closer and I will kill you."

I could see Sierra smirking out of the corner of my eye. She was definitely enjoying this. Lexi just looked confused, until realisation finally took over and a look of betrayal, which soon turned to pure hatred, crossed her face.

"You traitor!" she spat as she pointed her sword at me. "You joined with them!"

"Sweety, it's called survival of the fittest," Sierra sneered as she strung another arrow to her bow. "And clearly you're not fit enough to survive." She released her arrow.

The arrow was headed straight for Lexi's forehead, but she quickly covered her face with her green backpack and managed to avoid getting hit. The arrow pierced the backpack's fabric, sticking fast. Lexi didn't wait around for Sierra to string a second arrow. She was out of there before either of us realised that she'd managed to evade the attack. Damn, that girl was fast.

I was about to run after her when Sierra put a hand on my arm.

"Leave her," she ordered. "We'll get her later."

She then sprinted off; shooting an arrow at a male tribute that was grappling with Seni. The boy went down immediately, Sierra's arrow sticking out of his head. The sight made me feel slightly nauseous. Seni was quite pissed off that Sierra had stolen his kill.

"Take my kill one more time, Golding, and I'll have to kill you instead!" he roared as Sierra smirked at him.

"I'd like to see you try," she sneered back, taking a step towards him. "Come on, Seni. Do your worst!"

"Don't think I won't!"

Seni ran forward, but Nic stepped between them, holding up his hands.

"Really, this isn't the time for this," he said irritably, glaring at both of them. "You're in an alliance, remember?"

"We won't be for much longer is that bitch keeps on taking my kills!" Wow, Seni sure was petty.

"Well I wouldn't have to take them if you could just kill right!"

"Oh, that's it!"

Seni rushed forward again and this time I too stepped between them, holding up my spear to stop Seni advancing.

"Oh, like that's going to help, District 10," Seni spat at me, getting angrier and angrier. "I don't care if the others want you with us. I'll kill you too!"

"I don't know if you've noticed this," I said calmly, "but while you two were arguing, the rest of the tributes were getting away."

This was true. Almost half of the other tributes had already left the Cornucopia and were either disappearing over the hill or into the long grass surrounding us. Lexi and the rest of her alliance had already gone.

"Shit!" shouted Seni, his head whipping around as he searched for more tributes. "What are you all waiting for? Don't let them get away!"

He lurched after the small District 10 girl, almost tripping over his own feet as he hurried to catch up to her. I didn't look to see if he did.

Sierra rolled her eyes. "I say we leave the rest," she declared, crossing her arms. "It's more fun to hunt them down later anyway."

I couldn't help being relieved, but my relief soon turned to despair as I remembered where I was and who I was aliened with. I wasn't a true Career. What if they changed their minds about having me around and killed me in my sleep? Why did they want me with them anyway?

As I stood by the Cornucopia, watching the remaining tributes disappearing from sight, I couldn't help thinking that I'd made a terrible mistake.

**Lara Anders, District 11**

My plan was simple. Get in, get a pack and a weapon, and get out. My long legs were built for running; and that's exactly what I was going to do. Run, run far away from everyone else. As far as I could possibly get. I wasn't going to play their silly little game. I'd like to see them try to make me.

I plan was busted in about ten seconds.

It didn't take me long to reach the Cornucopia and soon I was right in its mouth, grabbing a large backpack, a sling of knives and a long spear. Thank God Sierra was occupied elsewhere of else I'd be dead for sure. I knew she had it in for me the moment I rejected her invitation to join her alliance. The ditzy District 4 girl checked me out as I left the Cornucopia, but decided against attacking me. Probably the smartest move she'd ever made.

Then I heard the scream.

The shrill noise cut through the sounds of the bloodbath like a knife, but in all the confusion, it seemed like I was the only one to hear it. I couldn't help myself. I spun around to find the source of the scream.

Little Shay, the tiny girl from District 10, was cornered over by the Cornucopia by a larger boy from District 7. Despite my previous plan, I knew I couldn't leave her. If she was another tribute who I didn't actually know, them maybe I could have. But not Shay. I'd spent time with her during training; I even ate with her on two occasions and had taught her the basics of knife work. I couldn't let that boy kill her. Not while I was still able to help her.

My decision made, I held my spear tighter between my two hands and bounded forward to where the boy had Shay cornered. Neither of them had seen me coming, Shay with her head in her little hands and the boy advancing on her with his axe, too engrossed with what he was doing to take any notice of me. My spear went straight through his stomach.

Shay screamed again, and I was afraid that I'd been too late; that the boy had got her before I'd got to him, but I soon realised that it was because she was covered in the blood from the District 7 boy. I kicked the dying tribute aside and grabbed Shay's arm.

"Get up," I ordered as I pulled her to her feet. "You're coming with me."

Shay looked terrified, but I saw a hint of trust in her expression as she obeyed me. She didn't speak, but she looked too shaken up to anyway. I pulled her away from the Cornucopia, towards the hill.

"Lara!"

Shay's cry was not a moment too soon. With surprising strength, the little girl pushed me sideways, just as an arrow when whizzing over my head. It wasn't hard to work out who had shot it. Who was a master with a bow and had it out for me since day one? Sierra.

"Run!" I shouted, breaking into a sprint and pulling Shay along behind me. "Quickly, don't stop!"

I knew Sierra would try to shoot at us again and, sure enough, another arrow went flying past as I made a frantic dodge sideways. Shay screamed again and nearly tripped. Sighing, I scooped her up and flung her over my shoulders. It would be easier for me to run when I didn't have to pull her along too.

"Tell me where to dodge," I shouted as another arrow came flying over us. "Don't worry, I've got you."

"Left Lara!"

I broke left, just in time too. Another arrow shot past us. I smirked as I thought of how frustrated Sierra must be getting. If she didn't watch it, she was going to use up all her arrows trying to shoot me. Sounds like a Sierra thing to do though. That girl was way too competitive for her own good.

"Left again!"

The arrow was so close; I could even hear the noise it made as it sped through the air. Luckily, that was the last arrow we had to worry about for the moment, as we had reached the hill. Turning at the base, I saluted Sierra, who glared back, before starting my climb and disappearing over the top.

**Killian Tragster, District 12**

It had happened. Karma was finally repaying me for all the bad things I'd done in my life. Boy did I regret doing those things now; playing the jokes and played and teasing all those kids. It was all for fun, right? Crying just toughened them up, right? Not right. I was crying, and I certainly didn't feel tough. I felt like a baby.

The horrors of the bloodbath were like something out of another world. Sure, I'd seen it on TV. Hell, I'd ever cheered for certain tributes. But nothing could prepare me for what it was actually going to be like.

I thought I'd do alright, I thought I wouldn't be afraid and cry my eyes out like some silly kid. But I was wrong. I was completely terrified. I couldn't even go in to retrieve a weapon of some sort. I was way too scared that I'd be cut down by one of the bigger tributes. It was a miracle that I was still alive.

"Killian! Killian!"

Hearing my name, I craned my neck to get a better view of who had called me. Vee was standing on the other side of the Cornucopia, a backpack clutched to her chest with one hand and the other hand waving frantically at me in the air.

She'd waited for me! She'd kept her promise and was going to help me! Then my heart sank. The District 1 boy was advancing on her from behind, a sword in his hand. Vee hadn't seen him and was still waving at me, calling me to follow her. There was no way I was going to her while that monster of a boy was right there! He would have no trouble killing us both.

I knew she knew that I'd seen her. That made my next move all the more harder. But when you're scared out of your mind, you don't really have much control over what your body wants to do. And my body wanted to live.

So I turned and ran. I left the bloodbath without any sort of supplied and sprinted away as fast as I could, into the long grass parallel to the river with the strange lizard-beasts in it. I didn't even turn to check is Vee was okay. I didn't even shout out to her, warning her that Seni was right behind her. I just ran away because I was scared. Coward.

**Lance Wolff, District 4**

_Clang!_

The sound of metal-on-metal rang out through the bloodbath as my sword clashed, yet again, with the sword of the District 6 boy. For someone from an outlaying district, the kid sure had some talent. Even with all my Career training, I was struggling to keep up.

Despite what I've been told to do, I didn't want to kill the boy. I knew he had to die so I could make it home, but I didn't want to be the one to kill him, to take him away from the family that needed him so much. His reaping was probably the only one I actually remembered. I could still clearly see the look on that pregnant girl's face as she watched her boyfriend get called up on stage. There was no question that she loved him and, even though I didn't even know the girl, I didn't like the thought of killing the boy she loved. I guess I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to true love.

_Clang!_

Our swords met again and I spun around, parrying the blow sideways and trying to get the other boy off balance. It didn't work and the boy lashed out at me again, aiming for my face. I just managed to get out of the way, managing to get a shallow cut along the boy's upper arm. Looks like I could win after all.

"Vitz!"

Oh yes, that was the name of the District 6 boy I was fighting against. The female voice calling him must have been his district partner, Lexi. She sounded urgent.

"Time to go!"

Vitz pushed against my sword with such force that I was knocked backwards, but instead of coming after me and finishing me off, he sprinted away in the opposite direction to join Lexi. She shouted something inaudible at him as he neared and, but the look of complete and utter shock that came over his face, it must have been something to do with their betrayed alliance. I couldn't help grinning. We'd really managed to shake things up.

Grabbing my sword again, I rejoined the battle, looking for a new tribute to launch an attack on. The district 7 girl, the one who had been so rude to me on our first day of training, was only a few meters away, trying to get a hold of an axe that was buried in a pile of other weapons. I grinned. Perfect.

She noticed me just as she pulled the axe out. Her blue eyes widened in shock as she saw me running towards her and, luckily, she didn't even think to throw her axe at me as she ran away. She was too frightened. I sped up, quickly gaining ground on her as she tried to escape. Then she tripped.

She screamed as she went down, realising that it was over for her now. Nothing she could do would stop me from ending her life. She didn't even have her axe anymore. It had flown out of her hands as she tripped.

I stood over her, a malicious grin on my face as I stared down at her. She had turned onto her back was looking up at me as I lifted my sword to plunge in into her chest. Her bright blue eyes had filled up with tears as she took in her final moments. This was going to be the last thing she ever saw. Me, her killer, looking down at her and she cowered away.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill the girl.

"Get up," I snapped, lowering my sword. "Move it, get out of here. Don't think you'll be this lucky if we meet a second time."

The girl was so shocked that I'd let her go, that it took a small kick from me to get her going. She scrambled to her feet, grabbed the axe that was lying in the long grass and, after a grateful look at me, ran off and disappeared over the hill.

What was wrong with me? First I didn't want to kill Vitz and now I couldn't kill this girl! Some Career I was.

Angry now, I turned and threw my sword into the chest of a tribute that was sprinting down. The boy, from District 11 I think, went down almost immediately and only stopped twitching when I tore my bloody sword out again. Okay, so I could kill after all. It was just that girl that I couldn't.

**Vee Clesta, District 12**

I left the bloodbath as soon as I saw Killian run off in the opposite direction. I knew he'd seen me. We'd even made direct eye contact before he sprinted off. I don't blame him though. The bloodbath was the most terrifying experience of my life.

It hurt I little to know that he'd seen Seni behind me and not bother to shout a warning to me. I'd barely managed to escape him, managing to get away with only a few minor scratches. Luckily I'd always been a good runner.

Holding my still bleeding arm to my chest, I slowed to a jog, confident that I was far enough away from the other tributes that I wouldn't be seen. The yellow grass provided enough cover for now, but I knew I needed to find somewhere better to spend the night. And quickly too. The sun was already going down and I knew the Careers would be out hunting just after the dark. The Careers and who knows what else. There's bound to be other predators out her, predators that I know nothing about from my experiences back in District 12. I'd already seen some strange animals here, like those giant water lizard things in the river and some weird black and white striped horse creatures I'd spotted grazing under a tree. Even the birds here were like nothing I'd ever seen before. As much as I hated to admit it, the Gamemakers had really out done themselves this time with the arena.

_Boom!_

I jumped at the sound of the cannon, surprised at how loud it was. The birds were clearly startled too, leaving their roosts in the nearby thorn trees or little ground nests and flying up in a cloud to the clear sky. I stopped, watching the birds as I waited for more cannon short. The fighting at the Cornucopia must have finally ended; the bodies carried away by the hovercraft's metal claw back to the Capitol where they'd be readied to be taken back to their districts. I shuddered as I remembered how close I'd come to dying in the bloodbath. I hoped Killian had made it out okay.

_Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!_

Six cannons. Six tributes had died today. By bloodbath standards, that was actually unusually low, but to me it still felt like a lot. Six children, who I'd seen for the past week, who were alive a few hours ago, were now dead. Seventeen more to go.

I broke into a jog again. The sun was setting quickly and I still hadn't found a place to sleep. As the sun dropped, so did the temperature and soon I could see clouds of mist in front of me every time I breathed out. Mel was right. I was definitely in for a cold night. I was so glad for my heat-reflective jacket on me as well as the sleeping bag I knew was rolled up inside my pack. I wouldn't have to risk a fire tonight.

I found a tree just as the sun went over the horizon. Like every other tree here, it was tall and difficult to climb. The trunk was mostly straight until right at the top of the tree where it branched out in every direction. Built over one of the thicker branches, was a large, relatively flat birds nest. Tiny, tweeting, green and brown birds were flying in and out of a small opening at the bottom, getting ready to sleep for the night. I sighed. That nest would have been perfect to sleep on if I could only get up that damn tree! I guess I would have to sleep on the ground tonight and try to hide myself as best as I could in the long grass. I couldn't stay up the whole night. I needed some rest if a wanted a chance in the Games.

Pulling my jacket tightly around myself, I sat down with my back against the tree trunk and emptied my bag out on my lap. The sleeping bag came out first, followed by the three knives I'd managed to pick up at the Cornucopia. The knives! I sat straight up at the idea hit me. I knew of a way to get up into that tree.

After shoving the sleeping bag back into my bag, I selected the two strongest looking knives out of the three I had. Standing up, I slung the bag over my shoulders and turned to face the tree again. Taking a deep breath, I stuck one of the knives into the trunk. I smiled as it sunk easily into the soft bark. This would be all too easy.

I stuck the other knife in higher than the first and took hold of them both. Wrapping my feel around the tree's trunk, I began to pull myself up. Even though I didn't weigh much, it was still quite hard work. But now that I'd found a way up, I wasn't going to give up on it that easily.

Gripping tighter to the tree with my legs, I pulled my first knife out of the trunk and stuck it back in higher up, repeating the process with the other knife afterwards. I pulled my self up again. It was going to take a while, but I was definitely going to get up into this tree!

I was panting when I reached the top. I flopped down on the huge nest instantly and reached into my pack for the water bottle I'd seen earlier. Sadly it was empty. Really? It was that hard to fill up one little water bottle? Despite my disappointment, I smiled. I'd done it. I'd climbed the tree. So what if I didn't have water? I'd find some tomorrow.

I'd just got into my sleeping bag when the anthem started to play. Back home, people would be watching the recap of all the day's deaths, but here in the arena, it would disadvantage some players if the others found out about their skills. Instead, we see the same head-shots that were displayed with our training scored, but instead of the scores, we see a district number.

Through the branches of my tree, I saw the Capitol seal disappear and be replaced with the face of the first dead tribute. The boy from District 3. That meant that all the tributes from One and Two had survived the day, but I expected nothing less. It was rare for a Career to die in the bloodbath. The girl from District 3 came next, followed by the boy from District 7. Wow, both tributes from Four, Five and Six had survived the bloodbath. I'd expected the District 4s to survive, but I thought the two from Five would be gone for sure. The next face in the sky was the boy from District 8 and then it was the little girl from Nine. I shuddered as I remembered how she'd been blown to pieces before the gong had even gone off. I'd been on the plate right next to her. I'd seen it happen! It was honestly the most horrible thing I'd ever seen in my life. And the bits of dried blood in my hair would serve as a constant reminder until I could find some water to wash it off with.

One more tribute left. I crossed my fingers, wishing and wishing that it wouldn't be Killian. It wasn't. It was the boy from District 11.

I let out a sigh of relief. Killian had survived! I'd kept my promise to my sister. Killian was okay, but for how much longer, I didn't know. He'd left the Cornucopia without any supplied and survival had never really been his strong suit. I'd have to find him in the morning.

Okay, so that's six down. Who's left?

Obviously, all the Careers were still alive, probably camped out comfortably at the Cornucopia with the rest of the supplies. Well I didn't really care; I had my tree for now. The little District 8 girl, Angela was alive too. I chuckled quietly as I remembered the screaming stunt she'd pulled just after the gong went off. It was genius actually. Risky, but genius. Zach and Evelyn were still alive, as well as Lexi and Vitz from District 6. The District 7 girl, Capri, was still around and so was that handsome boy, Lee from District 9. Surprisingly, the little angel-faced girl, Shay, had made it past the bloodbath and so had her serious district partner, Braxton. Strong Lara had also survived the day, but I didn't expect anything less from her. And of course there was Killian.

Eighteen of us still left in play. Who would be the next to go?

**The bloodbath is definitely one of the most exciting parts of the Games, so I'm truly sorry that I took forever to update. But it's here now :)**

**So...I'm sure some of your are wondering why you've never heard a POV from these dead tributes...Well it's because they were created my be specifically to be bloodbath tributes. I didn't want to kill someone's tribute off so early in the Games, plus I really didn't want to write about all of them. I'd much rather focus on the important ones. But sadly, that means one of yours is going to die next. Any guess as to whom?**

**Don't forget to check my profile for sponsorship details and to vote for your favourite tributes on my poll. **

**Animals: The tributes have obviously not seen any animals like these before as they would have been extinct for a while. That's why I'm not referring to them by name. The "giant water lizards" are crocodiles and the "black and white striped horses" are zebras. Just in case you didn't get that. Also, those birds with the giant nest are called "sociable weavers". They actually live together in huge nests like that. Google them if you want a better picture. Oh and while you're at it, Google "African savana" if you want a better picture of what the arena looks like in my head. If you don't feel like Googling it, just check out the story cover.**

**Cool, well I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Please review, I love hearing your thoughts and ideas. Let me know whose POV you want to see next.**


	19. Chapter 18:Birds, melons and silly games

**Capri Arello, District 7 (17)**

"_Hunting, hunting, we're going huuuuuuuuuunting. We're going to catch some tributes 'cause we're going huuuuuuuuuunting."_

"Dammit Naomi! Would you just shut up already! Enough with the singing!"

"Why? I think it sets the mood. After all, we're huuuuuuuuuunting."

"I said shut up!"

"Ouch! Seni, Sierra hit me!"

"If you don't shut it, I'll do a lot worse than that! Seriously, do you want every tribute in the arena to know we're coming?"

I startled awake, my head hitting the roof of the burrow I was in so hard that bits of soil rained down on me. I gagged, trying not to cough as I tried to calm myself down. The Careers were right outside; right above me even! I was completely trapped! One false move and they'd have me for sure.

I pressed myself against the back wall of the burrow, thinking how lucky I was to have found it. I'd actually tripped over it while running from the bloodbath the previous day. Two really angry looking pig-like creatures with tusks rushed out, snorting at me and they ran off into the long grass. Since they weren't using their home, I thought I might as well. Luckily for me, I'd always been quite skinny, so it wasn't much trouble squeezing through the small opening in the ground to get to the larger burrow below. Hopefully the Careers wouldn't notice it, and if they did, hopefully they'd think that it would be too small for anyone to hide inside.

I heard Sierra's voice again. "Hey, what's this here?"

Nic spoke next. "It looks like the remains of a fire. Someone's been here."

Shit. I'd forgotten to cover up the fire pit I'd made the previous evening. I didn't want to make a fire, but it was just so cold and I was really hungry. The pack I'd picked up at the Cornucopia hadn't contained any food, but luckily I'd managed to kill a small, spotted ground bird for my dinner. It was a massy kill, my axe hitting it squarely in the back causing most of it to be inedible, buy hey, food was food.

"It's still warm," I heard Seni say. "They can't have gotten far."

My heart nearly stopped. Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit. They were going to find me! They were going to kill me! My cosy little burrow had turned into a death trap. There was no way out except for the way I'd come it. And now the Careers were standing just outside. I wouldn't be lucky enough to escape them a second time.

"Check out this hole," said Naomi as I heard the footsteps stop right outside my hiding place. "Maybe someone's hiding down there."

"God, don't be an idiot," scoffed Sierra, kneeling down to get a better look at the hole. "The opening is way to narrow."

I tried not to gasp as I saw Sierra's face appear in the opening. I held my breath, watching her as she turned her head to get a better look inside. She was staring right at me! Oh God, I really was going to die this time.

"It's too dark to see anything in there," said Sierra irritable, drawing back from the burrow's mouth. "I doubt anyone can fit in there anyway."

I let out a sigh of relief. Sierra hadn't seen me after all. But it wasn't over yet.

"Seni, poke that spear of yours down there, just to be sure."

"Waste of time," I heard Seni mutter as a spear head pushed its way into the hole. "But okay."

I scrambled backwards, flattening myself as much as I could against the sandy walls. I was too scared even to breath. If I made any sort of sound, I'd be dead in seconds.

The spear was getting closer and closer, Seni waving it around in an attempt to cover as much ground as possible. After what felt like hours, the spear was drawn back. I still didn't let my breath out.

"Empty," Seni declared, almost disappointed. "But it doesn't matter. We'll find some tributes later. I'm hungry now! Let's head back and see what Maddie and the others have cooked for breakfast."

"Oh yes!" gushed Naomi. "I'm starving! What I smart idea, Seni!"

I could almost see Sierra rolling her eyes. She didn't exactly try to hide the fact that she found Naomi excessively annoying. I was surprised she hadn't killed her yet, but I guess she needed her for her alliance, though I'm not sure why. The girl was not the brightest.

"Fine," agreed Sierra, "but straight after breakfast we're going out again."

I only let my breath out again once I was sure the Careers had moved on. That was close! They'd nearly had me there. Looks like I was luckily enough to survive them a second time after all.

I waited about half an hour before venturing out of the burrow, just to be safe. The brightness of the morning sun was the first thing to hit me and I squeezed my eyes tight shut, temporarily blinded. The heat hit me next. Down in my cool burrow, the surrounding soil had helped to keep the stifling temperature down, but out here in the open, the heat hit me like a ton of bricks. I quickly stripped of my jacket, surprised that it was this hot outside. Stupid Gamemakers.

It was at that moment that I realised how thirsty I was. Not only did my pack contain no food, it contained no water either. That was exactly why I don't depend on people other than myself! They always end up disappointing you, and now possibly kill you. Possibly kill _me_, that is. It was all Rowan's fault! Before the Games started, we agreed that I would run in and get a weapon and he would grab us some supplies before we met up after the bloodbath.

I felt a pang of sadness as I thought about my district partner. Rowan and I got separated during the bloodbath the previous day and the next thing I knew, I was looking up at his projected image in the night sky. He hadn't made it. As much as he annoyed me, it still hurt to know that he was dead.

Shaking my head in an attempt to rid me of those thoughts, I tied my jacket around my waist and scooped up my pack. I didn't have time to think about my dead district partner. I needed to find water, and fast.

There was no way in hell I was going back to the river I'd seen near the Cornucopia; the one with the strange lizard-beasts in it. The Careers were probably camped out there and I sure didn't want to see them twice in one day. In fact, I didn't want to see them again at all. That only really gave me one choice. Venture on and hope to find water.

Even though I was in the Hunger Games, I couldn't help but admire the landscape as I walked through the long, yellow grass. As much as I hated to admit it, the Gamemakers had done a spectacular job in designing this year's arena. It was like being in a completely different world; something so different from the previous Hunger Games' arenas. It made me feel like I was living in the Old World, the world before the Great War and the destruction of the countries. Apparently, there used to be hundreds of countries before Panem! And people could even travel freely between them! That was actually really hard to imagine. I knew how big the Earth was, but as far as I know, Panem is the only place that's actually inhabitable. The nuclear weapons of the Great War made sure of that.

At school, we'd always been taught about the horrors of the Old World. According to my teachers, it had been a pretty bad place. There were too many people, way too many for out small planet to handle, and most of them, or at least the ones who held some power, were selfish and only really cared about making as much money as they could before their short lifespan was over. There were many wars, great poverty and the air was so polluted, so dirty, that people had to breathe through masks most of the time. In my opinion, the world is still pretty much like that now. Well, except we have clean air.

Africa, the place that this arena was modelled on, was the first to go. My teachers said that it was the poorest out of the Old World's continents, even though they held the most natural resources. Because they lacked money, and therefore power, they were unable to stop other countries from sending in their armies and taking all their resources, it didn't take long for the whole continent to be destroyed. It was hard not to be a little in awe of the beautiful, forgotten land, especially when you got to experience it first hand.

The arena was also filled with the strangest looking creatures I'd ever seen. Like those lizard-beasts in the river, or the weird little pig things that ran out of that burrow I'd hidden in. I'd never heard of such animals before! They must have gone extinct with their environment.

My favourite animals of the day, by far, were the cat-like creatures I'd spotted lounging under a thorn tree in the distance, just after midday. They were much bigger than any cat I'd seen before, way bigger the lynxes you sometimes see in the forests around my district, and were a tawny golden colour. Two of them, males I presumed, had a shaggy mane of hair around their huge heads. I had no idea what they were, but they were the most stunning creatures I'd ever seen. I even stopped to watch them for a bit, completely in awe of how powerful, and peaceful, they looked. I moved on quickly when one of the females lifted her head to get a better look at me. I definitely didn't want to risk having one of those creatures attack me.

By mid-afternoon, my throat was burning so badly that I had to stop and rest for a bit. I still hadn't found any water and I was getting pretty desperate. But I wasn't going to give up! There were so many animals out there; they had to drink somewhere! Exhausted, I slumped down into the grass.

"Some water would be nice," I croaked, looking up into the clear sky. "Come on, I know you're watching me. Be nice and send me something to drink."

I waited and waited for the little parachute to come falling from the heavens, but it never came. Either I had no sponsors, or my mentor didn't feel like sending me any water. I couldn't decide which one annoyed, and scared, me the most. Sighing, I curled my knees up to my face and rested my head on them. I was pretty tired and I didn't want to exhaust myself anymore in this heat. I decided that the best idea would be to sit in the shade of one of the thorn trees and wait for the temperature to go down a bit. Maybe it was the dehydration talking, but I really didn't feel like walking anymore. I was perfectly happy to sit there under my tree, waiting for the sun to drop a bit in the sky. I felt too weak to go on anyway.

I don't know how long I sat there for. I must have drifted off because, when I opened my eyes again, the air was much cooler and light had dimmed a little. I swore under my breath. What if someone had come along while I was asleep? I could have been killed! Luckily, the only signs of life that I was were the small green and brown birds flying in and out of the giant nest above my head and a large antelope type creature grazing nearby.

The antelope was yet another strange creature. For starters, it was by far the biggest buck-like creature I'd seen all day, with sandy-grey fur and long, thin horns protruding from the top of its head. I felt slightly chilled looking at those horns. If that thing decided to charge at me, I'd be dead in seconds. Those things were well over a meter long! But the buck looked quite peaceful, and just ignored me as it continued to graze. Well, that or it just hadn't seen me.

Then the buck started to do the strangest thing. Rearing back onto his hind legs, it started to stomp around in the grass, stamping down hard on something, kind of like what my friend Tylla does when she sees a spider. After a few well aimed stomps, it bent down its great head and started to eat something that I couldn't see because all the grass was in the way. I was pretty curious to see what it was, but I decided to wait for the buck to move on before I went to investigate. Its pointy horns didn't look very inviting.

Eventually, the huge animal walked off and I made my way over to where it was standing. I was so happy with my discovery that I would have cried if I had any fluid left in my body.

The buck had been squishing a small, green melon. By stomping on it with its hooves like that, it had broken the skin to release the juicy pulp inside. The juicy, watery pulp.

I crouched down and gently picked up the remains of the melon. Gratefully, I stuffed the crushed pieces into my mouth, not caring that they had just been stomped on by a giant buck. I was just so thirsty, any form of moisture would do.

I devourered the melon all too quickly. I had obtained a bit of water from it, but not enough to quench my unbearable thirst. But it was enough to get me thinking again. If there was one melon out here, there had to be more. Those bucks needed to drink somehow. Sure enough, after a bit of poking around in the grass, I found another melon. And then another. And then another. Soon, I had a whole pile of little green melons, just waiting for me to crush them up and get a good drink. I wasted to time.

Picking up my axe, I smashed the handle into one of the melons, crushing it easily. I was careful only to crush the one side, and soon I'd made a bowl-like creation out of my first melon. Happy with my work, which was unusually good for me, I brought the melon up to my face and drank greedily from it. I could feel the sweet juice as it ran down my dry throat and I shivered. There are few moments in life that can bring someone pure joy, but getting a cold drink on a hot day was definitely one of them.

**Vitz Morales, District 6 (18)**

The smell of smoke and cooking food woke me up. At first I thought I was at home, sampling the smells of Corolla's awful cooking, but as soon as I opened my eyes I realised how wrong I was.

The first thing I saw was the grass, the long, golden grass that I was sleeping it. I then rolled onto my back and got a view of the clear blue sky. As far as I could see, there were no clouds, which was kind of disappointing because the temperature was already well into the thirties and I could have welcomed some rain.

"Oh good, you're up."

Turning my head, I looked over to where the voice had come from. Evelyn was a few feet away, sitting besides a small fire and smiling at me cheerfully. Zach was besides her, poking the flames as he added on some more wood.

"You hungry?" she asked, still smiling.

"Starving," I said as I sat up. "Where are the others?"

"Went scouting for water," she replied, handing me something that looked like chicken. "We didn't manage to get much in the bloodbath. We're almost out." She nodded over to a pile of bottles on the other side of Zach. She was right; we were nearly out. Out of the six bottles we'd managed to collect at the Cornucopia, three were empty and the fourth was only half full. We had clearly underestimated the heat of this arena and, because of all the running we'd done the previous day, we'd been very thirsty by the time we decided to make camp. We'd be lucky if the water lasted us until tomorrow.

"Well I hope they find some then," I said as I took a bite out of the food Evelyn had given me. "Hey, this stuff is quite good. What is it?"

Evelyn shrugged. "No idea. Zach and Lee caught it this morning."

"And it was pretty fast too," Zach cut in proudly, his mouth full. "Took us at least ten minutes to corner the thing." He paused in thought. "It was this blackish colour, I think." he continued, stuffing some more of the mystery bird into his mouth. "With little white spots all over it."

"Well it's pretty delicious," I replied, taking another bite out of the bird. "But just a question. Why are we catching little spotted birds when we collected quite a bit of food at the Cornucopia?"

"Lexi said that we should save the food we collected for when we can't find anything else," said Evelyn pleasantly. "Said we should save it for emergencies."

"Of course she did," I sighed as I fell backwards into the long grass. "Sounds just like something she would say." I tucked my hands behind my head and closed my eyes.

"Don't you like Lexi?" I heard Evelyn ask. By the tone of her voice, I didn't even have to open my eyes to know that she was frowning.

"It's not that I don't like her," I said, eyes still closed. "I just find her a little crazy, that's all. You know what she's got planned."

"I think her plan's a good one," Evelyn answered evenly. "I mean, she's really doing what other tributes have been scared to do throughout Hunger Games history. No one likes the Careers, but before Lexi, everyone's been too afraid to do anything about them. I think she's very brave."

"Well said Ev," said Zach, clapping her on the back. "I totally agree."

I opened my eyes. "Don't you think that she's putting the rest of us at risk with this?" I asked, propping myself up on my elbows to get a better look at the two tributes in front of me. "Not all of us can fight like she can."

Evelyn smiled sadly. "I know," she said, leaning on Zach's shoulder, "but that can't really be helped, can it? I know the only reason I'm in this alliance is that she wanted Lee and Lee was already aligned with us. But hey, there's safety in numbers, right?"

Well not if those numbers went looking for a fight, but I couldn't tell her that. Evelyn was a smart girl. She knew what her chances were the moment she was reaped and had accepted it. I really admired her for that. Nothing seemed to get her down.

"Looks like they're back," said Zach suddenly, cupping his on hand to his forehead and squinting into the bright sunlight. "Yeah, it's them."

"Better serve them some breakfast then," said Evelyn happily, quickly getting to her feet and taking the last two pieces of bird off the fire. "They're bound to be hungry."

Evelyn placed the two pieces of bird onto a flat stone and the three of us waited for Lexi and Lee to join us.

"Nothing," said Lexi angrily, slumping down in the grass next to me. "We walked for hours, but still, nothing!" Evelyn handed her a piece of bird which she took a large bite out of before saying, "This is quite good. Thanks Evelyn."

"We saw lots of animals out there though," said Lee as he took some bird from Zach. "They need to drink too. We just need to find out where."

"Not unless they're some magical Capitol mutt that doesn't need to drink," Lexi replied glumly.

"Cheer up," sighed Lee, putting an arm around her shoulders. "We'll go out in the opposite direction after lunch. Maybe we'll find some there."

"I sure hope so."

"You guys should have some water," said Evelyn, sounding concerned. "You've been out in the sun for ages! Getting dehydrated is the last thing you need right now."

"No, I'm fine," replied Lexi, waving away the water Zach was trying to hand her. "We need to save it."

"I'm alright too," said Lee, also pushing away the water. "No danger here."

"That's what they all say," muttered Zach as he grudgingly took away the water. "Just don't hesitate to drink when you do get thirsty."

"Were out interviews really so bad that no one wants to sponsor us?" I asked jokingly. "Nice guys, way to mess up the Games."

Evelyn laughed. "I'm sure we'll get something soon." she said confidently. "I'm sure the Games would be very boring if this many tributes died of dehydration."

"I think we should kill her and drink her blood," groaned Lexi, holding her head in her hands. "Alright, pass me some of that water. My head hurts so much that I can hardly think and Evelyn's optimism is going to kill me if I don't get something to drink soon."

Zach passed her the water bottle again and she drank greedily. I could see that she really wanted to finish it, but she reframed from doing so and passed the bottle to Lee. That was definitely something I liked about Lexi. She always took care of others.

"Hey, what's that?" Zach said suddenly, pointing over Lexi's shoulder. "Wow."

Wow was right. About twenty meters behind Lexi was the biggest bird I'd ever seen. It must have been taller than me, taller than Lee even! It completely ignored us and continued to scratch around in the grass, occasionally ruffling its pitch black feathers. After a few scratches, it would bend its long, slender neck and eat something off the ground, quickly moving off to a new spot once it had finished. It was the strangest creature I'd ever seen.

"It's a...bird?" said Evelyn, unsure of her assumption. "I think."

"Not just a bird," said Lexi, her eyes lighting up. "Dinner." She glanced around at the expressions of disbelief on everyone's faces. "Oh come on, I can't be the only one thinking it! We'll never have to hunt again if we catch that thing!"

"I don't know Lex," said Lee, folding his arm and looking at the bird. "It looks pretty fast. Just check out those long legs!"

"Yeah, and it knows the environment way better than us," agreed Zach. "It could easily get away."

"Guys, it's a bird," Lexi said simply. "Really now, how smart can it be?"

"And look at those wings," I said, nodding to where the large bird was scratching around. "They're way too small to lift that thing off the ground. I'm with Lexi on this one. I think we should catch it."

"Thank you Vitz," said Lexi, beaming. "Anyone else going to help us? Just be warned, you'll look pretty stupid when Vitz and I catch that bird while you're just sitting here doubting us."

"I guess I could give it a shot," sighed Zach, getting to his feet. "You coming Ev?"

"No way," laughed Evelyn, pushing away Zach's outstretched hand. "I'd much rather stay here and watch you guys make a fool out of yourselves."

"As fun as that sounds," said Lee as he stood up. "I think catching that bird would be funnier. Alright, let's do this."

Five minutes later, the four of us had selected out weapons and had formulated a plan. I had a sword and had been instructed to approach the animal from the front, spooking it into turning around and running forward where Lee would be waiting for it with a spear, ready to throw as soon as the creature was close enough. Lexi and Zach were to stand on either side of the bird, also with spears, and would throw them if the bird neared them, or when Lee got a hit and they needed to weaken the animal from running away. My last job was to behead the bird once it had fallen, a nice, clean cut to end its life. It sounded pretty simple, but in reality, it was much harder.

Once we were all in position, Lexi gave me the signal and I advanced forward. We had clearly underestimated the speed of this animal. As soon as I stepped forward, sword raised, the bird turned and ran off in the opposite direction, straight towards where Lee was crouching in the long grass. Lee threw his spear, but the bird had already swerved past him, heading straight for Lexi. She threw her spear, but missed and the bird shot right past her, disappearing into the long grass behind her.

"After it!" she cried, grabbing her fallen spear and sprinting after the bird. "Come on! Run!"

I shook my head, bemused. That girl really didn't give up, did she? No matter how fast she ran, she would never catch up to that bird.

"Screw that," laughed Lee as he walked back to where a giggling Evelyn was sitting. "We tried, we failed. Let's move on."

"That was the funniest thing I've ever seen!" Evelyn cried hysterically as we reached her. "You guys have no idea how stupid you looked!"

Even though I tried my best not to, I began to laugh too. We must have looked pretty dumb trying to catch that bird. Soon we were all laughing, practically in stitches, but quickly stopped as an annoyed looking Lexi joined our group.

"Carry on," she sighed, walking past. "It was pretty funny."

**Madeleine "Maddie" Michel, District 1 (12)**

The sun was just going over the horizon when Seni, Sierra, Nic and Naomi came back from their second hunt of the day. By the looks on their faces, it must have gone just as well as the first.

"Where are all these damn tributes hiding!" shouted Sierra angrily, kicking one of the backpacks as she entered out camp. "God dammit they have to be somewhere!"

"I never thought I'd agree with you on anything," muttered Seni as he took a seat by the fire, "but this is ridiculous now! Where the hell are they all?"

"I'm sure you'll find some tomorrow," said Brax, his voice free from expression. "The Gamemakers will make sure something drives them towards us. They always do."

"Shut it, District 10," snapped Sierra. "If we don't find anyone tomorrow, you'll be the first to go."

Brax was quiet after that. Probably a good idea since Sierra looked murderous and a murderous Sierra was definitely not what any of us needed at that moment.

Sierra had looked the same after she's located me after the bloodbath. She'd pinned me to the side of the golden Cornucopia, demanding to know where I'd been while the rest of them had been fighting it out for supplies. In my opinion, saying that they were "fighting it out for supplies" was like saying that tracker jackers only "attack" you because they're friendly creatures and want to play. Sierra and the other Careers were trying to kill as many tributes as they could during the bloodbath. I, on the other hand, couldn't be bothered to take part, so, after a grabbed a bow, I climbed up onto the top of the Cornucopia and watched the battle from above. To be honest; I was quite bored.

"I know what will make us all feel better!" declared Naomi as she took a seat next to Seni.

"Oh this should be good," Sierra muttered under her breath, making Nic smile slightly.

"A little game!"

"Are you out of your mind?" asked Lance, looking at Naomi like she was crazy. "This is no time for games. We're in the Hunger Games!"

"Hunger _Games,_ Lance," giggled Naomi, leaning against Seni's arm. "Get it,_ Games_?"

"Oh dear lord..."

"I think that's a great idea, Naomi," said Brax, smiling widely at the blond girl. "I think this is the prefect time for a game."

Of course he did. Anything Naomi said, Brax just had to agree with her. Poor boy, it's not like Naomi would ever return his affections. Especially not when she had Seni around. Brax really didn't stand a chance with her.

"Come on Seni," pleased Naomi, practically climbing into his lap as she begged. "I know you want to play."

"Oh all right then," he sighed. "What is it?"

"Yay!" cried Naomi, pecking him on the cheek. "Okay guys, I think we should play truth or dare."

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Sierra groaned, scowling. "Seriously, do we look twelve to you?"

"Well Maddie is," Naomi pointed out, shrugging. "I just think we need a bit of lightening up."

Sierra glared at me, like it was my fault that I actually was a twelve year old. Well that made my mind up for me.

"Okay, I'm in," I said, smiling sweetly at Sierra. "Who else is playing?"

"I might as well," said Nic, ignoring his sister's angry look. "Could be fun."

"Yeah, me too," agreed Lance, nodding at Naomi. "I've never played this game before anyway."

"You've never played before?" gasped Naomi, putting her hand to her mouth. "Well we're going to change all that. You can even go first! Alright everyone, sit in a circle."

We all obeyed, except for Sierra of course who didn't move an inch.

"Come on sis," sighed Nic, patting the patch of ground next to him. "It will be good for you."

"I'm not going to resort to such childish forms of entertainment," she hissed, her eyes narrowed. "And don't ever call me 'sis' again." She stalked off, going to sit on a fallen log a few meters away, arms crossed.

"Okay guys," said Naomi enthusiastically, completely ignoring Sierra, "usually I'd spin a bottle to see who's asking who, but since Lance has never played before, I'm going to start by asking him." She giggled. "Okay Lance, truth or dare?"

Lance looked thoughtful for a moment before making his decision.

"Dare," he said, grinning at Naomi. "I pick dare."

"Oh goody!" gushed Naomi. "My favourite. All right Lance, I dare you to...kiss Sierra!"

Nic snorted. "Dude, if you value your life, kissing my sister is not a good idea."

"I second that," said Lance, looking slightly pale in the light from the dying fire. "Naomi, any chance I can change my dare."

"Well it's not really in the rules," said Naomi thoughtfully, "but I guess you could always kiss me instead." She winked.

Without another word, Lance lent across the circle and planted a small kiss on Naomi's cheek, Brax staring daggers at him the entire time.

"Oh please," scoffed Seni, "you call that a kiss? Here, I'll show you what a real kiss looks like."

He lent towards Naomi suggestively, but Naomi lifted her hand and covered his mouth.

"Not now Seni," she giggled. "We're playing truth or dare."

Seni leaned back, shrugging. "No worries," he replied. "I'll get my turn."

"So it's my turn to ask someone now?" Lance asked, looking at Naomi for instructions. When she nodded, he continued, "Okay, um, I'm going to ask Maddie." He turned to me. "Maddie, truth or dare?"

"Truth," I replied simply. I really didn't feel like getting up to do a dare.

Lance thought for a moment and then said, "If you couldn't pick any of the people here, who do you think is going to win the Hunger Games."

To be honest, I had no idea. There were some strong tributes out there, but I wasn't going to pick just any of them as my answer. Oh no, there had to be a reason behind my chosen tribute, and there was no better reason than to annoy Sierra. And I knew just the tribute that would piss Sierra off the most. Besides, who actually tells the truth in truth or dare?

"Lara," I replied, looking through the corner of my eye to catch Sierra's reaction. "Definitely Lara."

Nic burst out laughing as Sierra got up off her log and walked off into the darkness. "Oh Maddie, you'd better watch yourself now. She's got it in for you."

"I'm not scared of her."

That was true. Sierra didn't scare me one bit. Sure, she was tough and she knew how to fight, but I'd been trained for the Games too. I could do everything she could.

Nic sighed and got to his feet. "I'd better go make sure she doesn't do anything stupid," he said, walking off in the direction Sierra went in. "Hey Sierra, wait up!"

That was one thing that confused me about Nic. Let's face it, Sierra's a bitch, but yet he still seems to love her and wants to keep her safe. Now that's love for you. Unconditional love. I really had to admire Nic for that. Especially since he came into the Games knowing that he was going to die; that there was nothing he could do about it. He even had the chance to accept volunteers, but yet he didn't. He wanted to protect his little sister. Though why he wanted to protect Sierra, I would never understand.

**Angela Hopeful Winters, District 8 (13)**

Clutching my bow tightly to my shoulder, I crouched in the bushes surrounding the Career's campsite, listening to their conversation.

"Okay Lance, truth or dare," giggled a voice I assumed to be Naomi's.

"Dare. I pick dare."

Hold up. They were playing truth or dare? Who plays truth or dare in the middle of the Hunger Games? It was honestly the most bizarre thing I'd ever heard; a bunch of ruthless Careers sitting round a fire playing a petty children's game. I smiled to myself as I listened in. This would work well in my favour. While they're concentrating on their silly game, I could sneak into the Cornucopia and steal some supplies.

I gripped my bow as I thought of the supplies. Because of the screaming stunt that I'd pulled at the Cornucopia on the day of the bloodbath, I hadn't got away with very many supplies; just a small yellow backpack with an empty water bottle, two packets of dried beef and a thin sleeping bag inside of it. Luckily for me, I'd somehow managed to score some sponsors, who'd sent me my lovely bow just as I woke up on the second morning. As much as I loved my brand new bow, there were two problems with it. One, I hadn't ever used one before my brief time in training and, two, that it wasn't water.

I'd have traded anything for an ice-cold glass of water! I was so thirsty after running for my life the previous day that I'd do just about anything to get something to drink. Which was exactly why I was in the Career's camp.

As much as I liked being the centre of attention, I was also very good at becoming unnoticed when I wanted to. Pretty much the only thing I was actually good at was walking without making a sound, which was actually a very good thing given my situation. I'd be able to get into the Cornucopia and get out with some water, and maybe some food, before I was even noticed. I wouldn't take a lot and, if this went well, I could come back in a few days and take some more. Well actually, if this didn't work out well for me, the chances were that I'd be too dead to come back anyway.

Making my decision, I started to move forward, just as a high, girlish voice answered her ally's question with "truth". Good, they'd be too busy listening to her answer to notice me.

It didn't take me very long to get into the Cornucopia. Once inside, I grabbed a two litre bottle of water and a loaf of bread before making my way out again. Oh this was way too easy! I could keep this up for days and never get caught. And I finally had water! I was so thirsty that I was tempted to open the lid and take a long drink right there and then. But I wasn't out of the woods yet.

"Hey Sierra, wait up!"

I froze, nearly dropping my loaf of bread. The voice, probably belonging to the District 2 boy, wasn't coming from the campsite. It was coming from behind me. But that wasn't the problem. The voice that answered it was.

"Seriously Nic, I don't get how you can put up with them!"

My blood ran cold and this time I actually did drop the bread. This new voice, Sierra's no doubt, was coming from in front of me! Which meant that I was trapped directly between two Career tributes, two Careers that wouldn't hesitate to stick a spear right through my chest. Oh no, what was I going to do?

"I put up with them because we need them on our side for now. Rather have them with us than against us."

Nic's voice was getting closer and I was really starting to panic. Thank goodness for the cover of darkness or else I'd have been found out for sure. I willed my legs to move before Nic got any closer to me, but they just wouldn't. I was so frightened, much more frightened than I'd ever been before.

"You know we could take them all if it came to it," Sierra said irritably from a few meters away. "And I'm sure the Capitol viewers would love it if we just slit their throats while they slept."

Thinking of the Capitol viewers was what finally made me move. They were probably sitting on the edge of their seats right now, stuffing handful after handful of buttery popcorn into their mouths as they watched me trap myself between two Careers. Oh they must be loving this, waiting impatiently for my discovery so they'd see some bloodshed on what was an unusually uneventful day. Well I wasn't going to give them that satisfaction.

Unhooking my bow from my shoulders, I strung an arrow and silently released it into the darkness. I smiled as I heard a rustling noise as the arrow went into a bush. Good, now hopefully Sierra and Nic would hear it too.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, it sounded like it was coming from your left."

I breathed a sigh of relief as the two siblings moved off towards where I shot my arrow. Completely forgetting about the load of bread that I'd dropped, I started to move away, still gripping tightly to my bow with an arrow at the ready. That was close but, luckily, I'd made it out alive. My new parents must be so proud of me.

**Sorry for the long chapter, but I just thought it would make more sense to have these events in the same chapter rather than having split it up over two. Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed the chapter even though nothing much really happened. But seriously, if I had a death in every chapter, the Games would be finished way too soon!**

**I can promise you this; there will be a death in the next chapter. **

**Looks like some tributes really need some help...if you'd like to help them, check out the sponsorship details on my profile. Remember, anyone can be a sponsor. Oh and don't forget to vote on my poll for your favourite tribute.**

**Okay, now this next message is important. I'd really appreciate it if you'd take a look at this story by my friend Pawprinter. It's called "Day Before Gone" and is about Lexi, the district 6 tribute in this story. It's well written and it will really help you get an insight into Lexi's character and life before the Games. It's only a few chapters and I promise you that you won't regret reading it!**


	20. Chapter 19: Trap

**Naomi Sakura, District 4 (17)**

I was the last one to sit night watch and, all too soon, I could see the faint rays of the golden sun spreading out over the misty blue sky. I rubbed my eyes and, yawning, rested my head against the tree I was leaning on. I really didn't feel like waking everyone up just yet because, when I did, I would have to go back to my dumb blond facade and wasn't particularly in the mood. Trust me, it's hard acting dumb all the time when all you really want to do if rip out the throats of the people around you with a blunt stone. Believe me, I wanted nothing more.

Besides me, Seni muttered something in his sleep and rolled over. I smirked at him. Oh how easy it would be for me to stab him while he slept. He'd never suspect it; he'd never see me coming. I frowned and looked away. But I needed Seni for now. Besides, he could be fun to have around at times.

My eyes fell on Braxton who was sleeping soundly against the side of the Cornucopia. Now there's someone who I didn't need around. I honestly don't know why Sierra invited him to join our alliance. He might be strong, but he's so surly all the time and really doesn't do much. He didn't even kill that Lexi girl during the bloodbath when he had the chance! If it were me; I wouldn't hesitate. Sure, I was slightly flattered the obvious crush he had on me, but even that wasn't enough for me to enjoy his company.

_Beep...beep...beep..._

I looked up, confused by the strange beeping noise, and saw a small, silver parachute drifting through the air towards me. Oh good! We had some sponsors. I wondered what they'd sent us. It's not like we needed anything anyway. A small smiled suddenly curled at my lips. Whatever was in there, we didn't need it for now and could get on fine without it. Instead, I was going to do something that would bring me more joy than some silly little parachute ever could. Oh the Capitol was surely going to love this.

Plucking the parachute out of the air, I stretched and got to my feet. I flipped the switch that turned the annoying beeping noise off and, shaking my long blond hair out of my eyes, stepped carefully over Sierra's sleeping figure and walked down to the river. The river with the giant lizard-beasts we'd seen the previous day.

I had no idea what the lizard-beasts were, but they clearly weren't friendly. Long and thin, their scaly-green forms stretched for about three meters, a powerful-looking jaw, with the largest looking teeth I'd ever seen, on the one end and an even more powerful-looking tail on the other. They made no move to leave their small bank, but they glared at us with their little yellow eyes every time we passed. I bet they'd do anything to take a bite out of one of us. Well they were soon going to get their wish.

Today, the lizard-beasts were dozing in the shallows on the far side of the river, ignoring our presence. They were barely visible, just their tiny eyes poking out of the water, and I knew my victim wouldn't see them. Especially when all he really seems to see is me.

I walked slowly down the river bank to the water's edge and, leaning slightly back to get more power, tossed the parachute and container into the river. The lizard-beasts took no notice. Good, I didn't want them waking up just yet.

"Brax! Brax!" I hissed, nudging Brax awake with the toe of my boot once I'd reached the spot where he was sleeping. "Quick, wake up! I need your help."

Brax sat up, rubbing his eyes as he took me in. "What is it?" he yawned. "Why can't you get Seni to help you?"

"Because, I want _your_ help, Brax," I explained sweetly, fluttering my long eyelashes. "Don't you want to help me?"  
Brax sighed and got to his feet, quite quickly I noticed. Of course he would be eager to help me. After all, I'd picked him over Seni, which must have been a great achievement for him. "What do you need?"

"This way," I whispered, linking my arm through his and leading him towards the river. "Try not to wake the others. You see, it's a secret. Just between us!"

Brax looked over-joyed by the prospect of a secret between the two of us. God boys can be so stupid sometimes. They're too preoccupied with the thoughts of a pretty girl to notice that said pretty girl is leading them to their death.

"A parachute came this morning," I told him, leaning into his shoulder just a little. "But the wind blew it into the river before I could catch it. I was too slow." I sighed, looking up at him through my eyelashes.

"Don't blame yourself, Naomi," Brax replied, moving his face closer to mind. "It could have happened to anyone. Don't worry; I'll go fetch it for you."

I beamed up at him. "See, this is why I like you so much," I said happily, grabbing his hand and entwining my fingers with his. "You're so much nicer than Seni, like, way nicer, and you always listen to me when I'm talking. I bet you're real strong too!"

Brax blushed slightly. "I am quite strong, you know," he said proudly, staring down at our hands as if not believing what he was seeing. "And I'm nice."

"Very nice," I assured him, "now please help me out. I don't want the others to think I'm incapable of doing anything."

"Don't worry, I've got this."

Really, how stupid was he? I was from District 4 for God's sake! You know, the one with the sea? What kind of District 4 girl didn't know how to swim? I guess it's true when they say that love is blind.

"Thank you _so _much Brax," I said, battering my eyelashes at him again. "I owe you _big _for this." Brax went red again and I smirked, quickly changing it into a smile as I pointed to the small container bobbing up and down in the river. "It's over there!" I called. "It can't be too hard for you to get it. After all you're _so _strong."

Brax nodded at me and took off his shoes. He made a big deal out of taking off his shirt, which I have to admit was quite a nice view, and then dived into the river. He swam towards the container with swift, clean strokes and soon he'd reached it. He waved at me, signalling that he'd made it there safely and soon began to swim back. I waved back, but on the inside I'd started to panic. I hadn't banked on Brax actually making it out of the river alive. But then I grinned. I'd seen one of the lizard-beasts slip off the riverbank and into the sparkling water. It was soon followed by another. And then another.

Brax was completely oblivious to the beasts, his eyes fixated on me as he swam quickly to the opposite bank. I tried not to laugh. He was in for a cruel surprise.

Suddenly, Brax cried out and disappeared under the water. He emerged a second later, coughing and spluttering, and waving his hands at me widely.

"Naomi! Help!"

I just folded my arms and smirked at him. The look on Brax's face when he realised that I'd set him up was priceless. I'd never thought that so much hurt and betrayal could appear on just one person's face. God it was hilarious. Well that's what you get when you betray your alliance. Karma's a bitch, isn't it, Brax?

Brax's head disappeared under the water again. I craned my neck to get a better view, but he didn't resurface. Dammit, I'd lost him! He still had to be alive though; the cannon hadn't gone off yet. And sure enough, he resurfaced a few meters away, still desperately trying to get to the shore.

"You damn whore!" he shouted as he caught sight of me watching from the back. "When I get out of here, I'm going to kill you!"

I just waved, smiling sweetly at him as another one of the lizard-beasts grabbed his outstretched hand and began to pull him away. I think that's when it actually hit him that he was going to die. The look of pure horror on his face was one of the best thing's I'd ever seen in my life. My first real kill.

"What's going on here?"

I turned to see an amused Sierra standing next to me, looking down with interest at the scene below us.

"Oh Sierra!" I said quickly, switching back to my dumb blond act. "I didn't know what to do! The parachute fell in the river and, oh Sierra, I couldn't stop him! He just jumped right in."

"Save it," said Sierra, still watching Brax's struggle intently. "I saw you throw it in." She turned her head and grinned at me. "I was wrong about you. Looks like you have the makings of a Career after all."

I grinned right back. "Lucky the others aren't around to hear you say that. They'd think you've gone mad."

Sierra smiled again and turned away from me to watch Brax as he desperately tried to evade the lizard-beasts. It was no use, there were too many of them and they were all much stronger than he was. It wasn't long before he disappeared under the water for good, a cloud of blood billowing up from the depth as the cannon went off. I smirked as I watched the beasts carry chunks of Brax out of the water to their little bank where they began their breakfast. Poor District 10. There wouldn't be anything left for them to bury.

**Nicolai "Nic" Golding, District 2**

"Oh my God. That's sick."

The two girls in front of me turned at my words, both faces showing identical looks of surprise as they realised that I'd been standing behind them.

Sierra shrugged. "That's life," she said simply, pushing past me as she made her way back up the river bank. "He was careless. He died. Simple as that."

"I still think that's sick," I said as I followed her up the bank and back to our camp. "It must have hurt a lot."

"Well duh it must have hurt; he was torn to pieces by giant water-lizards!"

Sierra's lack of empathy towards our dead comrade annoyed me slightly, but I just ignored it. That's one of the things about Sierra I'd learned to live with. She generally didn't care about anyone but herself. Not even me.

My mentor, Malo Virurin of the 35th Hunger Games, had often asked me why I hadn't accepted any volunteers at my reaping; why I'd agreed to enter the Hunger Games with my sister, knowing that only one of us would be able to come out again. The answer was pretty simple. Even though she didn't seem to return the feelings, I loved my little sister more than anyone else in the world. More than myself even. So if I got the chance to protect her further, keep her safe from the horrors of the Hunger Games, then I was going to take that chance. I could never live with myself if I had to watch my baby sister die on live TV when I could have been there to prevent it. I'd rather be dead in her place.

"Nic, do you mind?" asked Sierra irritably as I followed her out of our campsite. "There are some things in life that needs to be done alone."

"You don't know what kinds of mutts could be lurking out there," I replied, still walking after her. "Wouldn't it be better if there were two of us if a mutt showed up?"

"Dammit Nic, I really need to pee and I can't go if you're standing over me like a hungry vulture!"

Well that shut me up. There were a lot of things I would do for my sister, but watching her pee definitely wasn't one of them.

"Fine," I sighed, turning away. "Just be quick about it."

Sierra marched away without another word to me, muttering something about having no privacy under her breath as she walked. I shook my head after her retreating figure and went back into our campsite, taking an apple from Lance as I sat down on a fallen log.

"It's moments like this that make me appreciate the fact that I'm an only child," sighed Lance as he took a bite out of an apple. "I think I'd go crazy with another kid in my house."

"I second that," agreed Maddie, sitting down in the grass opposite us as she caught the apple Lance threw at her. "What if I had another Sierra living with me?"

"Oh count yourselves lucky," muttered Naomi, folding her arms. "I have six sisters back home. Six! Seriously, did my parents have nothing better to do?"

Lance laughed and tossed an apple her way. "I think the only thing worse than living with another Sierra would be to live with six Naomies."

Naomi scowled as she caught the apple, ignoring the comment.

"What about you Seni?" Maddie asked, looking over to where Seni was still lying in the grass. "Got any siblings?"

"Four younger sisters with another on the way," he replied without opening his eyes. "I guess my parents had too much free time too."

"So none of us have brothers then?" That was Maddie's question.

"Well except Sierra," I pointed out. "Last time I checked, I-"

"-Nic! Nic help!"

Sierra's scream cut me off from my sentence and I sprang to my feet, sprinting off in the direction it had come from. What if she'd been attacked? What if she was being attacked? Oh God, it would all be my fault. I knew I shouldn't have let her go off by herself. Now Sierra was in trouble and I wasn't around to protect her.

"I'm coming Sierra!"

"Hurry!"

I sped up, crashing through the long grass as I desperately tried to reach my sister. She must have still been okay; no cannon had gone off yet. Sierra was still alive! Being too late to save her wasn't an option for me. God, I was never letting her go off on her own again!

"Nic!"

I drew my sword as I caught sight of Sierra. She was standing in a sandy patch between tufts of yellow grass, her arms wrapped around her waist as she stared at something on the ground with wide eyes. I couldn't see any sort of attacker, but I figured that they must have got her in the stomach and ran off, leaving her to die. Well I wasn't going to let that happen.

"What is it?" I asked frantically, my head snapping around to try and find the attacker. "What happened?"

"Down there," she whimpered, nodding to that spot on the ground that she'd been staring at. "Kill it Nic. Kill it!"

I looked down.

"Really Sierra? A snake? That's your big emergency?"

"You know I don't like them. Kill it Nic!"

I guess that was true. My fearless sister had always had a particular problem with snakes. No one knows why, no one knows what caused it, but ever since she was a little girl, Sierra had been afraid of snakes. Seriously, they would make her cry if they got to close. But this snake was like no snake either of us had ever seen before.

It was a lot bigger than any snake we'd ever seen around District 2 and was the same yellow colour as the surrounding grass. Its pointed fangs were bared and it stared at us with its beady black eyes from underneath its hooded brow. I totally sympathised with Sierra on this occasion; even I was a little unnerved by this creature.

I sighed. "Fine, I've got this."

I lifted my sword and brought it down on the huge snake, slicing its head clean off with my thin blade. Even though it was clearly dead, Sierra wouldn't go near it and grabbed my arm to pull me away.

"We don't speak of this again," she muttered without looking at me. "Got it?"

I chuckled. "My lips are sealed." I shook her hand off my arm went back towards where the dead snake was lying. "But I want to keep the head though. It looks kind of cool."

Sierra rolled her eyes and marched off through the long grass. I laughed, grabbed the snake's head and followed.

I was too busy examining the snake's head that I didn't notice when Sierra had stopped before it was too late. I crashed right into the back of her, causing her to stumble forward and shoot me a very dirty look. But instead of calling me an idiot like she usually would, she pointed to something that she'd seen on the ground; the thing that had caused her to stop dead in her tracks.

"Nic, what is that?"

I looked down at the small item on the ground.

"It's a loaf of bread," I said as if she was stupid. "Has it really been that long since you've had bread?"

"I know what it is dumbass!" she snapped, bending down to pick up the load. "I just think that it's a huge coincidence that we find a loaf of bread just outside out camp after we heard noises around here last night."

"Sierra, some tribute must have dropped this bread while escaping form the bloodbath on the first day," I sighed, starting to walk again. "And as for the noise; it was probably an animal."

I could hear Sierra following me, the loaf of bread probably still clutched between her hands.

"I think we've been robbed."

I stopped walking and turned to face her again. "Really?" I said, eyebrows raised. "Who would be dumb enough to rob the Career pack?"

"Clearly someone in this arena!"

"Dude, you're exaggerating."

"_Dude, _you're a moron."

I glared at Sierra as she mimicked my voice. It was yet another of her annoying traits. Annoyed, I turned around again and started to walk back towards the camp, Sierra following silently behind me.

"Check out what I found," I said, holding up my snake head as I reached the others. "Isn't this cool?"

"Ew," screamed Naomi, hiding her head in her hands. "That's gross!"

Maddie narrowed her eyes. "That looks like a cobra to me," she said thoughtfully, "but it's way bigger than any I've ever seen before."

Lance nodded. "Yeah, and knowing these Gamemakers, it's probably more poisonous." He looked up at me. "Can I see?"

I shrugged and tossed the head at him. He caught it nearly, opened up the snake's mouth and began to examine it.

"Well it's definitely poisonous," he said after a while, not taking his eyes off the snake. "The poison sacs behind its eyes are pretty clear. You know, I bet I can make a pretty good trap with this thing."

"I sure hope so," sighed Naomi, looking at the snake head from between her fingers. "What kind of District 4 boy doesn't know how to make a trap?"

Lance ignored her and started to rip the head carefully open.

"Uh, wouldn't you be more interested in what I've found?" asked Sierra, her voice like poison.

"Not really," Maddie replied pleasantly, smiling up at my sister. "But I'm sure you're going to show us anyway."

Sierra glared at her and held up the loaf of bread for all to see.

"I found this just outside the campsite," she said, glaring round at us. "Someone robbed us last night. Nic and I heard noises out that way yesterday and today we found this. They must have dropped it while they were running away from us. They must have heard us talking!"

"That's nice Sierra," said Lance absentmindedly, not looking up from the snake's head. "Would you mind passing me some crossbows from the Cornucopia?"

"What am I, your slave?"

"Find, Nic would you mind passing them to me?"

I shot Sierra an annoyed look at went into the mouth of the Cornucopia to retrieve the crossbows from the weapon's rack, where I could still hear Sierra bitching to the others about being robbed last night. There were four in total, varying in size, and I decided to bring them all.

"Nic, if you can find them, can you bring me some chains?"

I had no idea what we wanted with the chains, and the crossbows too for that matter, but I brought them out anyway. I was definitely curious. Lance thanked me as I passed him the equipment and then he began his work. We all crowded around him, even Sierra, and watched his with interest.

First, Lance tore the whole upper jaw of the snake off, exposing its poison sacs and very large fangs. Putting that aside, he reached for a crossbow and I piece of chain and attached the chain to the wooden end of the barbed arrow. Picking up the snake again, he squeezed the tiny sacs, forcing the venom out through the pointed teeth and onto the arrow's spiky head. There was a small hiss as the poison hit the metal and Lance smiled. Clearly that was what he was hoping for. He carefully put that arrow down and repeated the process with all four crossbows.

"Okay," he said, standing up. "We have four traps here, which means we'll have to split up to place them. Don't put them too near the camp though. I don't think tributes are going to come this close to us."

"Well clearly someone did," muttered Sierra, but no one took any notice of her.

"Well then how will we know if we've caught anyone?" asked Seni, folding his arms.

"That's what the chain's for," Lance explained, nodding towards where his trap was sitting on the ground. "The arrows have barbed heads, which means that the tribute caught in this trap won't be able to pull it out without causing immense tissue damage that will resort to a massive blood loss." Wow, that actually made a whole lot of sense. Lance was a lot smarter than I thought he was. "The chain is to make sure they don't go running off with the arrow still stuck in them," he continued. "Make sure you attach the other end to a tree or something to keep it in place."

"And what about a trigger," Seni asked, still not impressed.

"We'll use that really thin rope that came with one of out packs. If we rig it right, whoever steps on that rope will get shot with the crossbow. If the wound doesn't kill them, they won't be able to get away from that spot and we'll finish them off later."

"And the poison?"

Lance sighed before continuing. Seni's constant questioning seemed to get on his nerves. "That's just an added touch," he said evenly. "From what I know, cobras are lethally poisonous. Their venom contains neurotoxins, which attack the brain and nervous system, causing paralysis or lack of muscle control. It also attacks the body's ATP supply and-"

"-In English, nerd."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Basically you die a pretty painful death. But like Maddie said earlier, this snake is much bigger than the ones you usually find around the districts. For all we know, the Gamemakers could have added something extra nasty to the venom. Knowing them, they probably did."

Seni didn't have anything more to say after that. How could he? Lance's idea was one of absolute genius. Before I didn't think twice about Lance, but now it's clear that he could actually be quite a threat. I was going to have to watch out for him.

**Shay Allerisa, District 10**

"Shay. Shay! Wake up. We have to keep moving."

I felt someone gently shaking me awake and I slowly opened my eyes to see Lara leaning over me.

"But the sun's not even up yet," I complained, trying to roll over as Lara held me fast. "Why now?"

"Because I said so. Now move it."

I sighed and sat up, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand. It was still dark, but I could just make out the faint rays of the sun coming over the horizon. Usually, seeing a sunrise as beautiful as that would make me happy, but each sunrise in this arena would bring dawn to some new horrors for me. Besides, I knew that the sun rise wasn't real. It was initiated by the Gamemakers.

"Here," said Lara, pushing some crackers into my hand. "Eat this and have something to drink. I want us to be walking in five minutes."

I took the crackers, grateful to have some food. I sure was hungry. I wolfed them down and drank a few gulps of water. Not too much though; I knew we had to save some for later.

I thought I was going to die on day one. But here I am, on the morning of day three, still very much alive. My family must be pretty happy. Maybe my survival even gave them some new hope? I knew that they didn't expect me to get this far either and if it weren't for Lara, I'd be on my way home to District 10 in my little coffin already.

Lara's rescue was a huge shock for me. Never in a million years would I expect the angry girl from District 11 to save my life, and then to keep looking out for me afterwards. Why she did it though, I had no idea. Sure, Lara and I had got on pretty well during training, but we were about as opposite as two people could be. And on top of all that, there really wasn't anything I could offer her. If anything, I was dragging her down.

_Boom!_

I jumped at the sound of the cannon, spilling a few drops of water from the bottle and into the sand below me. Lara didn't notice and was looking up into the sky instead, waiting for the picture of the dead tribute to appear.

"You know they only come at night, right?" I said carefully, placing the lid back onto the bottle. "We won't know who it is until later."

Lara looked at me, her eyes a bit unfocused. "Oh, right," she said absent-mindedly, going back to her packing. "Are you done? We should get going now."

I smiled and handed her back the water bottle. "Who do you think it was?" I asked.

Lara shrugged. "Probably some poor sucker that the Careers hunted down. Come on, why are you so slow today?"

Lara really confused me. Over the past two days that we've spent together, she's probably said about ten sentences, and only when I speak to her first or she's ordering me around. First she goes off and saves my life, and then she basically ignored me afterwards, but still thinks it's necessary to keep me by her side. I didn't understand it at all. So asked her.

Lara looked up, surprised by my question. "You remind me of someone that I used to know," she said not meeting my gaze. "That's all."

"You two were close?"

"Yeah," she replied, smiling slightly as she nodded. "Practically sisters."

"So what happened to you guys?"

Lara sighed before continuing. "She was reaped a few days after her twelfth birthday," she said sadly. "Didn't make it past the bloodbath."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

We sat in silence after that, neither of us meeting the other's eyes. I felt really bad asking Lara such personal questions, especially when I got the answers I did. She didn't give a name to the little girl, but I knew I owed her my life. I don't think Lara would have gone back to save me if she hadn't lost her friend like that.

"Don't be sorry," Lara said briskly, getting to her feet. "That was a while ago anyway. I'm over it now."

Obviously she was less over it than she was letting on because, if she was truly over it, why had she saved me? There must still have been something there for her to do that, something for her to latch on to. Or maybe seeing me just awakened some long lost memories.

"What was her name?"

The question was out before I could stop myself and I clapped my hand over my mouth in horror. Lara just laughed.

"Liza, her name was Liza. Now stop stalling and get up! We have a lot of walking to do today."

**Lexus "Lexi" Annette Deryl, District 6**

The parachutes began to arrive just after midday. Evelyn was the first to spot the tiny, beeping capsules floating down from the cloudless sky, and she sprang up with joy and began to shout, "Guys! Guys, we have sponsors!"

Soon we were all squinting up into the bright sunlight, trying to spot each new parachute as it came down.

"There's another one!" exclaimed Lee, clapping his hands happily. "How many does that make it now?"

"Three," replied Vitz, looking just as happy as Lee. "And look! Here comes one more!"

Four parachutes were sailing through the sky towards us, each one beeping just as loudly as the one next to it. If I wasn't so happy about having sponsors, I'd have been worried that someone else might hear them and come looking for us.

The first parachute nearly flew right into Zach, but he caught it in time and tore open the lid, not even bothering to shut the annoying beeping sound off.

"Two bottles of water in here," he said excitedly. "Thank goodness, I was really getting thirsty."

"I have some water in here too," called Evelyn from a few meters away where she'd managed to catch the second parachute. "And this strange liquidy stuff in this little glass bottle. Oh my gosh, someone's sent us Morphling! That must have cost a fortune!"

"Wow, it really is Morphling," I observed, taking the bottle from Evelyn. "Hopefully we don't actually need to use this."

"Check out what I have," I heard Lee say behind me. "Two bottles of antiseptic ointment, some bandages, some more water and a little pack of beef strips and crackers. I can't believe people like us so much! I mean-hey, what's this?"

Pausing, he picked a tiny, folded up piece of paper out of the pack. Frowning, he carefully opened it and, after reading it for a second, passed it over to Vitz.

"Here bro, it's for you."

Vitz looked just as confused as we did as he took the little note. He laughed once he read it.

"It's from my mentor," he explained, crumpling up the tiny piece of paper and putting it into his pocket. "He says that he hopes I like the stuff and he's routing for me. He says I need to get home to my little girl."

"So this is all for you then," I said bitterly. "Figures, everyone feels sorry poor the poor boy with the pregnant girlfriend."

"Lexi!" Evelyn gasped, putting her hand to her mouth. "That's not very nice."

I rounded on her. "Oh don't pretend like you weren't thinking it. So now he deserves to win because his girl is having a baby back home? Don't we all have family too?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't going to say it-"

"-Save it," I muttered, turning away. "I just think that people need to realise that we all have equal rights to live. Just because he's having a baby doesn't mean he deserves to win any more then we do."

I walked off, not bothering to look back at the others. I could feel their eyes on me, but I just ignored them and kept walking. I knew I'd regret my outburst later, but for now I really didn't care. It actually made me sad to think that people were only sponsoring him because he had to leave his girlfriend and unborn kid at home. I will admit that I felt bad to, but here in the Games you really can't spend time worrying about other people's problems. I had my own family to get back to. I knew it wasn't his fault that people lapped up his sob story, and if I couldn't win I would love for him to bring our district a victory, but these Capitol sponsors just annoyed me so much. Besides, if they really felt sorry for him, he wouldn't be competing in the Hunger Games in the first place.

I caught my foot on a sharp object in front of me and I stumbled forward, holding my hands out in front of my body to catch myself. After looking behind me to check if anyone had seen me fall, I looked down to see what I'd tripped over. It was the last parachute item. But it didn't look like the others at all. This one was much larger, and quite oddly shaped too. I carefully unwrapped it and saw what we'd been sent next.

A beautiful wooden bow fell into my lap; a pack of five, very sharp looking knives followed it, along with a small sheath of arrows. I ignored the rest and turned the bow over in my hand. Wow, it really was beautiful. It was made from a dark, varnished wood and was extremely light to hold. Whoever had sent us it must have been pretty rich. I fought the urge to toss it aside as I thought it was probably for Vitz, but somehow I managed to keep a hold on it. I wasn't really one to think weapons were beautiful, but this bow certainly was.

"Wow," said I voice behind me. "That's pretty cool."

I didn't even have to turn around to know that it was Vitz.

"Yeah, well it's probably for you."

I heard Vitz chuckle and I felt the grass move besides me as he sat down. We just sat there in silence, Vitz staring out in front of him as I examined the bow still clenched between my fingers.

"I don't even know how to use this," I sighed after a while, still not looking at him. He just laughed again.

"I can teach you how, if you want that is."

"Ah of course, everyone's favourite tribute can use a bow too. Seriously, what can't you do?"

"My parents made sure there wasn't much I couldn't do," he replied with a sigh. "My mother was a victor, you know."

"Oh, well she must be so proud then."

"She's dead."

We lapsed back into silence after that. I felt a bit bad for bringing up his mother like that. I knew first hand what it was like to lose a parent, but I wasn't about to give him and sympathy. He was getting enough of that from the sponsors. Yeah, I guess I was being a bit hard on him, but I wasn't really in the mood to be civil. This is what happens to me when I haven't had anything to drink for a while.

"I didn't ask for any of this," Vitz muttered, looking away, "and I don't think it's fair that you can just attack me like that. If I had it my way, I wouldn't be in this situation in the first place."

I didn't reply. I just kept staring down at the bow in my hands.

"So you know how to use this thing?" I asked, changing the subject.

Vitz smiled. "Yeah, I can even show you right now."

He started to stand up, put I grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. "Later," I said. "I have a much better idea. Now that we're hydrated, it's the prefect time to launch out attack on the Careers!"

"So you guys get the plan?" I asked for about the third time as the five of us crouched down low in the long yellow grass.

"Yes, Lex," sighed Lee, fanning himself with his hand. "Now can we please get started before we all die of heat?"

I rolled my eyes. "Stop being so dramatic," I hissed, slapping his hand down. "Alright then, let's go."

Our attack on the Careers couldn't have been planned for a better time. It was late afternoon and, though it was still quite hot, the sun was hanging low in the sky and casting long shadows on the ground. The Careers would have been back from their hunting by now, probably celebrating the kill they made this morning, and won't be expecting an attack at all. No one in Hunger Game's history has ever tried something like this before. They won't know what hit them! Oh I couldn't wait to see the look on that traitor Brax's face when we showed up. He wouldn't be expecting us to attack on day three. We were nearly at the top of the hill by the Cornucopia when I heard the scream.

It was a high, girl's voice, piercing the hot air with more pain and fear than I could have imagined possible. There was only one person around that could have made that noise. Evelyn.

"Evelyn!" cried Zach, dropping to the ground immediately to survey the damage. "What happened?"

"It's in my foot, Zach," she sobbed, clutching his arm so hard that I thought it would draw blood. "It hurts! It really hurts! Get it out!"

I knelt down too, trying to get a better look at Evelyn's injury. What I saw made me want to run away and never come back.

Evelyn had managed to get her foot caught in a cleverly designed trap, one she must have triggered as she walked passed. It looked like it was made out of a crossbow of some sort, chained up to a tree so that she couldn't escape. The barbed end of the arrow had gone right through her ankle, tearing the skin beyond repair. I felt sick as I saw the blood gushing out of the side of her foot. This was probably the end for her.

"Hey, hey, hey," said Zach softly, wiping some of her tears away with the hand that Evelyn wasn't holding, "it's not that bad. You were actually pretty lucky. It went right through."

I couldn't see how anything in this situation could be considered lucky, but I kept quiet anyway and let Zach handle the situation.

"I can get you out of there," he continued in that same quiet voice, "but you have to trust me, okay? And we have to be quick too. Whoever set this trap could be here any second."

Evelyn looked absolutely terrified, but he nodded anyway, holding Zach's hand a little tighter.

"Alright, Lee, could I borrow your sword for a moment?"

Lee nodded silently and handed Zach his sword. He looked just as good as I was feeling, his pale abnormally pale and his hands over his stomach. Zach thanked him and took the sword. With one swift movement, he cut the barbed end of the arrow.

"Okay, Ev?" he said softly, handing the sword back to Lee. "I'm going to pull this arrow through now, okay? It's going to hurt, but I promise I'll be quick."

Evelyn just nodded, turning pale. She was obviously very frightened, but what else could she do?

"Here," I said suddenly, untying my jacked from around my waist and handing it to her. "Bite down on this."

She didn't thank me, but she looked up at me gratefully as she took it.

"Ready?" said Zach, taking a hold of what was left of the arrow. "Three, two, one..."

He quickly pulled the arrow from her foot, causing Evelyn to bury her head into my jacket. The blood flowed freely from the wound and I didn't think twice about wrapping my jacket tightly around it to try and stop the bleeding.

"Let's get out of here," I said quickly as Lee scooped up Evelyn. "We don't want the Careers finding us now."

The others just nodded and we sprinted off in the direction we'd come from, Lee holding Evelyn tightly to his chest as she sobbed. I wanted to cry as I listened to her. She must be in so much pain, not to mention scared out of her mind. Getting an injury like that so early in the Games is never a good thing. I didn't want to think about it, but Evelyn probably didn't have much time left.

**Poor Evelyn :( Things really aren't looking good for her, are they? Luckily her alliance was sent all those medical supplies...psychic on your guy's part there. Brax may be dead, but Evelyn is still very much alive for the moment.**

**Just another reminder about the sponsorship system displayed on my profile. Oh and the person who can correctly guess who the next death will be will earn themselves an additional FIVE sponsor points. So get guessing!**

**Thanks to all who have subscribed to this story and even more thanks to everyone that's reviewed so far. I know I've said this before, but you guys are awesome!**

**One more thing. If you have an idea for a specific character in this story, or a specific scenario you'd like to see them in, don't hesitate to PM me and I'll gladly add it in. **


	21. Tribute recap

**Hi everyone. At this point in SYOTs, I usually find myself a bit confused with who's who in regards to characters. There are quite a few tributes running around the arena, so here's a helpful guide about the tributes who are still alive.**

**Before the guide though, there's another small segment that I'd like to publish. It's about Maddie Michel and is written by her creator. I hope you all enjoy it. I certainly did.**

**From the creator of Maddie:** I know you guys probably all think she's too perfect, but she's supposed to seem that way – I made her that way.

Her father was handsome with golden good looks – lean and fit his tousled copper-bronze waves and long-lashed hazel green eyes, their crystal depths muddied by sin seen and remembered – granting him unofficial status as Panem's darling playboy; victor of the 24th Hunger Games.

Diesel had the pick of Panem's – and the Capitol's, if he so wished – loveliest girls, but he chose to settle down with a virtual nobody from his district. Sure, she was pretty, beautiful really, but she wasn't that rich, she didn't live in a mansion.

Panem was understandably disappointed that he had married, and with a pretty girl, but Snow was furious; marriage made Diesel unattractive, or at least unattainable. In truth, Diesel had just wanted to escape the cutthroat Capitol environment, where secrets could be sold for a tumble between sheets (personal experience) and murder committed at the nod of a head.

He made a good choice: Maddie's mother was clever, and Marielle would never risk her own reputation – marrying a lunatic – for the sake of justice. Besides, she had once loved Diesel; handsome and quick-witted, he had won her over, along with the rest of Panem, with his charm and charisma.

Her parents had never meant to have a child, and Maddie's birth had drawn them apart; they – especially her father – hadn't wanted to subject her to the horror of the Games. But still, Diesel had done his "duty" by her, and trained her for the Games, both in physical strength and skill and in strategy.

Maddie was naturally pretty, and her father had only taught her to enhance that which nature had given her, along with good genes of course, and she had gotten the best of both of them; she had also inherited her parents' way with people, and she seemed almost born to work a crowd.

But then things fell apart. Snow had been forced to take shelter in their house when the train had collapsed in a snowstorm, and he had at first been reluctant, but little Maddie had managed to win him over.

She displayed a charming intelligence when she had eavesdropped on one of his conversations – and then proceeded to inform him what he had done wrong and what he should do to fix it, much to the horror of her parents – but fortunately for her, the president hadn't taken offense, and had in fact found her idea useful, not that he would tell anyone.

An incident involving a knife and the president's unfortunate Avox – wrong place wrong time – had accidently revealed to him the true extent of Maddie's potential with the weapon. Impressed, Snow had insisted that Diesel return with him – along with his daughter – to the Capitol, but he had refused. He should've agreed.

The president was unused to being turned down, and well, you know the story.

Diesel blamed Maddie for Marielle's death and grew gradually more distant; this was not to say that he did not care for his wife or daughter though – he still had his soft spots. Maddie once stumbled upon him crying – sobbing – in his bedroom, rocking back and forth on his bed as he stared at the picture in his hands: it was of them, the three of them smiling at the beach, turquoise waves crashing behind them; it had been taken on a rare visit to District Four when her father had gone for "Victor business".

Maddie in turn was also affected; she was devasted when Marielle died, and she swore to exact revenge on Silken. She began training from here on out, a pursuit her father was only happy to aid her in. Diesel grew obsessed with training Maddie so that she would be able to defend herself – she had to be perfect – and Maddie grew more shut off from the world, quieter, more solemn, and unable to truly trust, to love, again.

Maddie would've given all her wealth, all her talent, if only her mother could've lived again; she blamed herself for her mother's death – it broke her when Marielle died – and it would always come back to haunt her in her dreams.

Diesel was strict with his daughter, and Maddie was punished whenever she did something incorrectly – or just not "perfectly" – but he was always very careful about leaving no marks on her. Maddie presents this "perfection" as a façade; life had taught her to make no mistakes – there was no trial or error, only punishment – and she learned to not only do things well, but to do them perfectly.

To cry out or attempt to explain, or blame, especially to plead for mercy, was seen as a sign of weakness, and her father despised weakness, even in himself. The picture on their laughing family was never to be seen again; it had been burned. They were perfectionists.

Maddie originally volunteered to kill Seni; her mother was the only person who was kind to her, and she would shield her from the worst of her father's wrath, so Marielle's death hit her hard. She may have also – subconsciously – wanted to get away from her father and his oppressive regime, but by then Diesel hardly cared.

It didn't matter that she was twelve – age was not an obstacle, and she wouldn't let it stop her – she would probably never get another, or better, chance. The Games legalized murder, and since Seni was going…

Maddie is an observant person by study; her good instincts and sharp senses had been honed as a way for her to avoid – or get away from – her father whenever he was in one of his moods.

She hates blood – she isn't afraid of it per se, but it just dredges up some painful memories – because it reminds her of her father and what he did to her, so she tends to avoid killing unless absolutely necessary; this isn't to say that she can't do the deed.

**Well I hope you enjoyed that. I for one can say that I understand Maddie a little better. Now on to the tribute profiles! (Please note that I've simplified this profiles quite a bit)**

**District 1**

**Male:** Seni Gold (Volunteer)

Age: 17

Appearance: Has a surfer kind of look about him, with golden blond hair and light blue eyes that turn violet around the pupil. He's lean and lightly muscled with creamy coloured skin.

Personality: Super flirtly and can be really charming when he wants to be. He's quite self absorbed and has no problem using girls to get what he wants. Despite this, Seni is actually quite intelligent and can be quite serious when he's alone.

**Female: **Madeleine "Maddie" Michel (Volunteer)

Age: 12

Appearance: Wavy, Coppery-caramel hair that tumbles in loose curls down the small of her back. She has large, clear amber eyes and a petite build with lightly tanned skin.

Personality: Mature for her age and is often referred to as an adult in a child's body. She's an intelligent girl, a natural athlete and an all-round likable person. Even though she's beautiful, she hates what beauty because of what it does to people, and she especially dislikes how people assume her beauty is all she needs to survive in the world. She volunteered for the Hunger Games because she knew the son of the man responsible for her mother's death was going to volunteer and she wants revenge.

**District 2**

**Male: **Nicolai "Nic" Golding (Reaped)

Age: 17

Appearance: Tall, and well muscled from his Career training. Has naturally tanned skin, light blond hair and emerald green eyes.

Personality: Despite his Hunger Games victor father's wishes, Nic had no wishes to volunteer for the games and never really gave them a second thought before he was reaped. His father still trained him, but mainly to be his sister's sparring partner, because she would be the family's volunteer. Nic cares deeply for his sister and would do anything to protect her, which was the main reason why he didn't accept any volunteers at his reaping. He may be one of the nicer members of the career pack, but he's still lethal and won't hesitate to kill, especially if it will help his sister achieve her goal of winning the Games. He entered the Games knowing that he wouldn't be coming out again.

**Female: **Sierra Golding (Volunteer)

Age: 16

Appearance: Looks exactly like her brother, but a female version. Has the same naturally tanned skin, light blond hair and emerald green eyes. Her body is in top physical position because of all the Career training her father makes her do. Her face has sharp angles, high cheek-bones and a pointy nose.

Personality: Sierra has been trained to be the perfect Career. She's ruthless, ambitious and doesn't care about anyone other than herself, well except for her brother but she doesn't let that show. She's mean and manipulative, and will do anything in her power to win the Games, even kill her own brother.

_Both tributes from District 3 died in the bloodbath._

**District 4:**

**Male:** Lance Wolff (reaped)

Age: 17

Appearance: Tall, with green flaked golden eyes (an unusual characteristic for District 4) and messy bronze hair that hangs just above his eyes.

Personality: Lance is a guy who's always thinking, which could make him appear shy at first when in reality he can actually be quite talkative. He's probably the most intelligent tribute in the arena and is also one of the calmest, especially when faced with immidiate danger.

**Female:** Naomi Sakura (reaped)

Age: 17

Appearance: A very pretty girl who has no trouble using her beauty to get what she wants. She has long, wavy blond hair that ends at about her ribs and large, light blue eyes. She has creamy-coloured skin and her face is quite innocent looking (which is pretty much the opposite of what she actually is).

Personality: Naomi has two personalities; her real one and her fake one. Her fake one consists of her acting the roll of a typical "dumb blond". She's ditzy, overly girly and very flirty, though she sometimes acts more sweet and innocent than she actually is. Her real personality is mean and manipulative. She's a backstabber who feels no guilt and will do anything to get what she wants.

**District 5**

**Male: **Zachary Swift (Reaped)

Age: 14

Appearance: Zach's a stocky boy with blond hair and chocolate brown eyes, which are his best feature. He isn't drop dead gorgeous, but he's definitely above average when it comes to looks.

Personality: Zach is someone who would stereotypically be known as "the nice guy". He's kind and sweet, and definitely one of the most loyal guys you'll ever meet.

**Female:** Evelyn Jenkins (Reaped)

Age: 14

Appearance: Evelyn has long, straight brown hair that she always keeps tied up in a high ponytail. She has a slender build with pretty hazel eyes.

Personality: Evelyn is quite a shy girl who likes to solve matters peacefully and in a non-violent way. She's kind and optimistic, but doesn't trust people easily, probably because of how she was bullied for most of her life. She's very sweet and likes to put the needs of others before her own.

**District 6**

**Male:** Vitz Morales (Reaped)

Age: 18

Appearance: Vitz is quite attractive and has short, spiky orange hair (which gives him an edgy look) and and dark brown eyes. His face is lightly freckled and he has long legs, making him perfect for running.

Personality: Vitz is quiet most of the time and can be seen as quite brooding, yet he hates being alone. He's intelligent and loyal, and will do anything to get back to the small family that he'd left behind. He's a rough guy, but he's still nice.

**Female:** Lexus "Lexi" Annette Deryl (Volunteer)

Age: 15

Appearance: Athletically built (her body is also well toned from her street fighting) with light brown hair, that's usually tied up, and bright blue eyes.

Personality: Lexi is a family girl and would do anything to protect the ones she loves; even volunteer for the Hunger Games. She's driven, quite competitive too, and is generally caring person. Though she's usually quite practicle, she can also be impulsive and a little bit hot-headed.

**District 7**

_The District 7 male died in the bloodbath._

**Female:** Capri Arello (Reaped)

Age:17

Appearance: Capri has always been on the skinny side, and she has long, straight blond hair, sky blue eyes and fair skin.

Personality: Capri is usually quite reserved, but will start talking when she warms up to you. She considers her intelligence her greatest strength and plans to use it to survive the arena.

**District 8:**

_The District 8 male died in the bloodbath_

**Female: **Angela Hopeful Winters (Reaped)

Age: 13

Appearance: Long, stick-straight jet-black hair that hangs half way down her back in a long braid. She has wide-set stormy-grey eyes that have a mischievous glint about that and pale skin.

Personality:Angela is very, very dramatic and can make small things seem like a life-threatening situation. She's more street-smart than book-smart and is naturally out-going, often taking many risks just for the sake of it. She has a quick temper and never backs down from an argument.

**District 9**

**Male: **Barley "Lee" Mapel (Reaped)

Age: 18

Appearance: Lee has light brown hair that's always flipped to the side, hanging over his eyes, and deep green eyes. He's very attractive and has many girls falling all over him back home in District 9, but of course he doesn't really notice them because of his sexuality.

Personality: He's a very nice person who loves to joke around and have fun. He's sweet and helpful; basically everything a girl would want in a guy. He's very friendly.

_The District 9 female (Aluma Barric) died in the bloodbath._

**District 10:**

_The District 10 male (Braxton Cross) was killed on day two by Naomi Sakura._

**Female: **Shay Allerisa (Reaped)

Age: 12

Appearance: Shay is by far the smallest tribute in the arena. She's petite, with light brown hair that's always falling in her face and large, bright blue eyes. She has an almost angelic appearance and a very innocent look about her.

Personality: Shay is just about as innocent as she looks. She's very sweet and tries to stay as positive as she can in her terrible situation. She's quite helpless and wouldn't have been able to survive for so long without the help of the District 11 female tribute, Lara.

**District 11**

_The district 11 male died in the bloodbath._

**Female:** Lara Anders (Reaped)

Age: 17

Appearance: Tall and athletically built, unlike most of the District 11 tributes that enter the arena. Infact, she looks more like a Career tribute than some of the actual Careers do. She has dark skin, a common characteristic of District 11, and dark brown hair and eyes of the same colour. She doesn't smile much.

Personality: At first Lara appears cold and wants nothing to do with any of the tributes. She's very angry that she's being forced to compete in the Hunger Games and she wants to show the Capitol that she's more than just a piece in their entertainment regime. Surprisingly, she allies with Shay, who she seems to care about because she reminds her of someone that she used to know who died in the Games.

**District 12**

**Male:** Killian Tragster (Reaped)

Age: 13

Appearance: Pale skin, with spiky blond hair and deep brown eyes. He's very short, skinny and appears to be smirking all the time.

Personality: Killian is very mischievous and quick to judge people. He also loves creating drama for other people to laugh at their expense. He loves teasing people.

**Female:** Vee Clesta (Reaped)

Age: 15

Appearance: Dark red hair (unusual for the Seam), with common Seam-grey eyes and Seam olive skin.

Personality: Vee is witty and sarcastic. She doesn't trust easily, but it funny and quite out going. She's an intelligent person who always speaks her mind.

**Cool, well hopefully these profiles helped you a little with keeping track of the many many tributes. The next chapter should be up soon. Oh! When I logged in today to post this chapter, I saw my review count! Wow I can't believe I have over 250 reviews. Huge thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far. You all inspire me to write more.**


	22. Chapter 20: Fire

**AN: The italics you see in Vee's POV of this chapter are part of a flashback. Just a heads up for those of you who could get a bit confused.**

**Killian Tragster, District 12 (13)**

I wanted to die. I well and truly wanted to die. I was completely overwhelmed; this was all too much for me to handle and I just wanted it all to end. If I had actually managed to grab a weapon from the Cornucopia on the day of the bloodbath, I'd have ended my own life by now. Well actually, I probably wouldn't have. As well as being completely afraid of the Hunger Games, I was completely afraid of committing suicide. That's me; a coward to the very end.

I guess Trek was right all along. I am a loser, I am good for nothing. I bet he's laughing at my weakness right now, sitting in front of out TV at home with all his buddies. My brother really is Mr Popular.

He looked almost happy to see me go off to the Games. I say almost because he must have been a little disappointed that he wouldn't be able to bully me anymore, but a look of glee still crossed his face as he clapped his hands at my reaping. I felt a twinge of sadness as I thought about the reaping. That was just over a week ago now. Two weeks ago, I would have laughed if anyone told me that I'd find myself in this position. Just think, if the escort's hand moved a tiny bit to the side when picking out of that reaping ball, my name wouldn't have been called and I'd be at home right now watching some other kid get killed on the TV.

You know they sometimes say that your life flashes in front of your eyes before you die? Well it kind of does. You think about all the stupid things you've done, all the mistakes you've made, and every bit of embarrassment and ridicule washes over you in a wave of pure nausea. Yeah, it definitely isn't as for filling as the story books make it out to be. Aren't the heroes meant to see pieces of their awesome lives and get all inspired to get up and continue fighting? Well, lying there in my little patch of dirt, I didn't feel like a hero at all. I just felt like a loser.

I opened my eyes and stared up at the bright blue sky. Dying sucks no matter how you do it, but lying on the ground on a beautiful sunny day and staring up at the heavens sure seemed like a nice way to go. It was quiet, peaceful even, and I wasn't in any pain. My dry throat had stopped throbbing hours ago and I was in a state of semi-consciousness, content with the world. I'd rather die out here alone than by the hands of some Career anyway.

Smiling slightly, I closed my eyes for what I thought was going to be the last time. I was dying and, surprisingly, I was okay with it. You could imagine my surprise when I felt someone violently shaking my shoulders a few seconds later.

"Killian? Killian, wake up! Oh God, are you dead?"

My eyes snapped open and soon I was staring up at the small District 8 tribute, Angela.

"Do I look dead to you?" I croaked angrily, glaring at her stupidity. "Did a cannon go off? No. Now get lost so I can die in peace."

I closed my eyes but instead of leaving, Angela forced the hard rim of a water bottle between my teeth and began to pour the cool liquid down my throat.

"Drink," she demanded, ignoring my efforts to slap the bottle away.

"I said go away," I snapped between bouts of water. "I don't want your damn water!"

I felt the bottle leave my lips.

"Shit," hissed the girl as she tightened the cap onto the bottle again. "Killian, someone's coming this way. I'm sorry, I would have loved to help you, but I need to get out of here before I'm seen. Good luck."

With that, Angela jumped up and sprinted off into the long grass. Honestly, I couldn't care less about being seen. All I wanted to do was die so the torture would finally end. I wasn't going to make it out of the Games anyway, so I might as well do it on my own terms.

_Beep...beep...beep..._

Oh great. Just as I was starting to relax again, an annoying high-pitched beeping noise started up, making it impossible to clear my mind and just drift off. With the noise came an even more irritating sound. The sound of a familiar voice calling my name.

"Killian! Killian!"

Oh great. Vee Clesta had finally found me. I knew it was only a matter of time before she did, she did promise that bratty sister of hers that she would.

I shut my eyes tightly and tried to block out her calls. I really didn't want to see Vee. Apart from wanting to be left alone to die in peace, I also felt slightly ashamed about what I'd done to her on the day of the bloodbath. I'd known that she was going to help me, even when it wasn't exactly in her best interests, yet I'd failed to help her at all. In fact, I'd probably put her in more danger. I'd seen her calling me from the other side of the Cornucopia, but I still ignored her. I'd seen Seni advancing on her from behind, but I still ignored it. Just proves my point about me being a coward even more.

"Oh thank God I found you! I probably would never have if it weren't for the beeping parachute."

Ah, so that's what was making that annoying noise then. Stupid sponsors. They lead Vee right too me! Are the Capitol citizen's really too thick to see that I _wanted _to die? Thanks to them, I wasn't going to get to die peacefully in my sunny spot. No, Vee would make me get up, try to 'save' me as best as she can, and then I'll die, probably painfully, later at the hands of someone else. Just great.

"Piss off," I muttered, smacking away the hand that Vee was stretching towards my face. Of course, Vee didn't go anywhere.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring down at me. "Don't tell me that you actually _want _to die?"

"So what if I do?"

Before I could say anything more, Vee grabbed me by my collar and yanked me upright. I flinched away from her as best I could, but she was a lot stronger than I was in my dehydrated state, and soon I was staring up into her Seam-grey eyes. And boy, if looks could kill...

"Get up," she spat, her eyes narrowed. "Drink some water and let's get moving. We've wasted enough time hanging around here already."

"Make me."

That was definitely the wrong thing to say, especially considering that it was Vee I was speaking to. My district partner got to her feet and then roughly pulled me to mine, still keeping her face barely inches away. I have to admit, it was quite intimidating. Once I was in a standing position, she thrust a water bottle into my chest.

"Drink."

This time I didn't argue. Still glaring at Vee, I unscrewed the cap of the water bottle and drank greedily. Once I was finished, I shoved the bottle back at Vee and muttered, "Thanks."

"You're an idiot, you know that?" she said, smiling slightly as she put the water bottle back into her pack. "And you give up way too quickly."

"I wasn't-"

"-Yes you were." She sighed before continuing. "Look Killian, it isn't over yet. You're still alive and you even have sponsors! Isn't that something that makes you want to keep going?"

Not really, but I didn't say that. Instead I just looked away, ignoring the question. I expected her to continue with some sort of motivational talk, but surprisingly Vee was quiet. I looked up to see her looking away towards the horizon, a look of terror on her face.

"Vee, what-"

"-We need to move," she whispered, bending down slightly as she prepared to run. "Now!"

She grabbed my arm and pulled me away, but not before I heard a sound that chilled my blood instantly.

"I see tributes!"

I shiver ran down my spine and I started to sprint. I didn't even need to look behind me to know who that voice belonged to. It really didn't take much to recognise the voice of Sierra Golding.

"Faster!" Vee urged as she pulled me along. "Come on, run!"

"I'm trying!" I wheezed, coughing because of my dry throat. "I haven't had anything to drink for days. Give me a break."

"I can't. Not while the Careers are heading this way!"

An arrow whizzed over our heads and stuck fast in the dirt a few meters away form us. I heard Sierra swear behind us, irritated by her miss. I was irritated too. Why did Vee have to find me? I could have died a peaceful death if it wasn't for her! Now I'm going to die painfully at the hands of some ruthless Careers.

I wasn't looking where I was running. I just knew that I needed to get away as quickly as possible. I was looking down at the ground, following Vee's feet as she ran through the dry grass. I didn't think twice when I started coughing; I thought it was because of my dehydration, and when my eyes started to water, I figured that it was because I was crying from the fear. Only when I slammed into Vee's back did I realise what was actually going on. Turns out the coughing, the tears and the immense heat all around me weren't from my run after all.

It was from the fire.

**Vee Clesta, District 12 (15)**

_The air was thick; dark smoke billowing around in dense clouds and forcing its way into my lungs, making me cough and gasp for breath. The heat was unbearable and, every time I closed my eyes to stop them from stinging, I could see the orange flames dancing across my eyelids. The roaring in my ears was louder than anything I'd ever heard before, but not louder than the screams._

"_Help! Please, somebody help me!"_

_Even with all the crackling going on around me, I knew it was my mother's voice. She must have been trapped in her bedroom, unable to get out because of the flames, or maybe a fallen roof beam. Even though I was nearly out of the house, I knew I needed to go back for her. I couldn't leave my own mother. _

"_Mommy! I'm coming!"_

_My mother's voice changed when she heard mine._

"_Vee? No, go back! Get out now!"_

_I didn't listen to her. I sprinted up the crumbling staircase towards the small room my parent's shared at the top of the house. I took no notice of the swirling flames around me, nor did I worry about my coughing from the thin air. No, I just needed to find my mother._

_I was just outside her door when the pair of arms grabbed me._

"_Come on kid, you need to get out of here."_

_I fought and struggled, even biting my captor's arms, but it was no use. I was lifted off my feet as if I was a rag doll and flung over the strange man's shoulders. No amount of screaming and crying would make him let go of me. Then the screaming started again._

_These screams weren't pleas for help. No, these were screams of pain. My mother's screams of pain._

_That was when I knew she was burning. I had to get to her. I had to help her. But no matter how much I struggled, the strange man wouldn't release his hold of me. I could still hear her screams, loud and clear, from the pavement outside the burning house._

"_Mommy!"_

Snapping back to reality, I started to run again, dragging Killian along behind me. Smoke filled the air, streaming down my throat and into my lungs as easily as water and making impossible to see more than a few meters ahead. The blistering heat was unbearable, causing me to sweat out the already low supply of water my body actually had left. Tears streamed down my face, but whether it was from the pain of my stinging eyes or the immense fear that was taking over my body, I couldn't tell. Thanks to that night, the night that I'd lost my mother, fire has always been my deepest fear. I couldn't already feel my body sizing up from the excessive amounts of adrenaline rushing through my veins. I couldn't think straight with the fire roaring around me, but I knew one thing. I had to get out of there, no matter what the cost.

When you're afraid, your instincts start to kick in and, when you're really _really_ afraid, all sense of humanity leaves you as you try to get out of your situation as quickly as you can. So when Killian tripped over a burning log and let go of my hand, I didn't even think about turning back to help him. I just kept going.

"Vee! Vee, help me!"

When fear takes over your body, there really isn't anything you can do to stop it. When it's real fear, no amount of breathing, or counting slowly to ten, can help you. Your basic, animal even, instincts take over and you do whatever you can to save yourself. That's why I didn't turn back to save Killian. My deep psychological fear of fire prevented me from going back, going back right into the thick of the fire. I just couldn't do it.

"Vee, help!"

Killian was screaming now, but I couldn't tell if it was from fear or pain. I was too caught up in getting out of the fire. The screams grew louder and I started to sob, desperately trying to block out his cries for help as I ran to safety. The smoke was growing thicker, swirling around me in dense, black clouds as I ran, forcing its way deeper and deeper into my body with every breath I took. The heat was growing too and the flames around me turned into a huge, orange blur as I ran passed. I didn't know for how much longer I could keep this up. The pain in my chest and the guilt of leaving Killian behind made me want to give up and just die. But I knew I wouldn't. I would keep going.

My vision started to blur as another bout of coughing came over my weak body. The smoke and the fire started to merge into one as I crumpled to the ground, unable to go on. I couldn't breath. I couldn't think. All I could hear was the roar of the flames dancing around my head the loud, distinct boom of a cannon. But whether it was my cannon or Killian's, I didn't know. Everything had gone black.

**Lance Wolff, District 4 (17)**

"Move it! They're getting away!"

Sierra was so fixated on catching the two District 12 tributes that she took no notice of the raging fire and started to sprint off the direction the tributes had run in.

"Sierra, wait!" called Nic, running after her and grabbing her arm. "Don't be an idiot! You could die in there."

Sierra yanked her arm out of her brother's grip and glared at him.

"Well do you have a better idea?" she demanded, arms crossed. "Come on, out with it!"

I took over when Nic didn't reply.

"We could go around," I suggested, looking over at the rest of the group for their reactions. "It could take them a while to get out of the fire. Well if they get out of it that is. We can catch up to them at the other end."

Sierra rolled her eyes. "Trust the nerd to come up with a plan," she sneered, narrowing her green eyes at me. "Fine, let's get going."

Not even bothering to ask the others what they thought about my idea, she turned on her heel and started to sprint. Nic sighed and followed.

I felt a small hand pat me on my back and when I turned around, I saw Maddie staring up at me.

"As much as I liked the thought of Sierra running off into the middle of a fire," she said darkly, "your plan was pretty smart." Then she too followed the others.

I followed suit, sprinting flat out to catch up. Or more like tried to catch up. By the time I actually started running, the fire had spread even more, blocking the path I needed to take to catch up to the rest of my group. No matter how much I tried to get around it, I just couldn't. There was no way to reach them.

"Uh guys!" I called out, waving my hands wildly in the air. "I can't get to you!"

Just as I'd predicted, Sierra was annoyed.

"You're smart," she snapped, glaring at me again. "Figure something out." She turned and started sprinting away again.

"See you on the other side, bro," Nic sighed as he followed his sister. "Don't get burnt now!"

Maddie didn't say anything. She just gave me an apologetic look before running after Sierra and Nic.

I was actually quite annoyed that they'd abandoned me like that, even though there wasn't actually any danger of me getting trapped in the fire. Well fine, they can go hunt down the District 12s all by themselves then. I was going to go back to camp where Seni and Naomi were probably waiting with some lunch made. I sure was hungry.

I didn't take me long to realise how wrong I was about going back to the camp. Not only did the fire spread out in front of me, but it had also spread out behind me, completely blocking my exit and leaving me with no other option than to find another route.

Swearing under my breath, I broke into a run, desperately trying to find a path through the burning grass. This was much easier said than done. The air around me was so thick with smoke, that I could barely see anything, let alone a safe path to take through the blaze. On top of all that, my eyes were stinging like hell and, every time I blinked, my vision blurred so much that I had to stop and wait for it to clear again. Every breath I took felt like a knife stabbing into my chest and every time I tried to breath deeply to get more oxygen into my lungs, my body would shudder with violent coughs.

I knew that I needed to slow down and think logically about how to get out of my situation, but the sheer panic of the situation made any thinking completely impossible. I hit a wall that I'd always been afraid to hit, the wall where all logic and reason leaves your mind and is replaced my your basic, animalistic instincts. The instinct to stay alive.

And then I saw her.

Running in my direction, and only a few meters away, was the blond District 7 girl; the one that I'd spared on the day of the bloodbath. I lifted my spear, ready to strike, but she'd spotted me at the exact same time and lifted up her aluminium axe, holding it in the precise position for an accurate throw that would end my life. We stood there, frozen in place as the fire roared around us. I couldn't attack her and she couldn't attack me, because we both knew that if one of us attacked, the other would throw their weapon and we'd both die.

"What you waiting for?" the girl wheezed, her watering blue eyes staring coldly into mine. "Attack already."

"You know very well that I can't do that," I said, grimacing. "As soon as I make a move, you're going to throw that axe right into my head."

The girl smirked. "Smart boy."

She pulled her arm back, ready to throw her axe into my heat. But the simple movement must have been too much for her sickly body to handle. She'd been trapped in the fire for too long and her brain hadn't received enough oxygen to keep going, so as she pulled her axe back, one last cough shook through her body before she crumpled to the ground in a dead faint.

I just stood there, staring in disbelief at the unconscious girl lying in the grass, realising that I had a choice to make. I could either run her through with my spear right there and then, making sure that she died, or I could just leave her there and let the fire take care of it. But even as those two choices entered my mind, I knew that I wouldn't be picking one. Just like how I couldn't kill the girl in the bloodbath, I couldn't kill her in the fire.

_Boom!_

I jumped at the sound of the cannon, thinking immediately that the District 7 girl had suffocated to death from the smoke. Without thinking, I dropped my spear and rushed to her side, poking my fingers in the side of her neck to try to find a pulse. I breathed a sigh of relief when I found it. It was weak and unsteady, but it was there. Which meant one of two things. Either one of the District 12s was dead, or one of my allies was dead. I was surprised to find that I didn't really care either way.

I also had no idea why I was so relieved that the girl lying in the grass wasn't actually dead. Wouldn't it make my life so much easier if she was? Plus I didn't even know her! We'd only exchanged a few words during training in which she was actually quite a bitch to me; telling me to leave her alone and go be the stupid Career I was somewhere else. It must have been because of the lack of oxygen, but I felt like I couldn't leave this girl behind.

Grabbing my spear and fastening it to my belt, I knelt down and scooped the unconscious girl, flinging her over my shoulder as I started to run again. I knew that I was probably going to regret it later, but that thought didn't stop me from charging through that fire to try and get to safety. My district must think I'm completely crazy for rescuing the dying girl, but in that moment I felt far from it. It actually felt good knowing that I was saving her life.

**Evelyn Jenkins, District 5 (14)**

Pain. Immense pain. That was all I knew. I didn't know where I was, I didn't know who the people were around me. All I knew was pain.

Even though I couldn't hear it, I knew that I was screaming. The shadowy figures around me kept shoving pieces of cloth into my mouth, desperately trying to muffle the sound, but I didn't care. I just wanted the pain to end.

"Kill me," I begged, sobbing between my screams. "Please, kill me."

"She's bleeding again," said a deep voice besides me, ignoring my pleas. "We need to change the dressing."

"Shit!" cried a different voice. "There's something wrong with her blood. It's so thin. It'll never stop bleeding!"

"Well tie the bandage tighter," snapped a female voice. "Don't let her bleed out."

I felt someone take hold of my foot and a fresh wave of pain swept through me. I cried out and started to thrash around; trying everything I could to get the person who was causing the pain away from me. It was all in vain. A strong pair of hands grabbed my shoulders, holding me steady as I was pulled into the lap of another person.

"It's okay, Ev," a voice said gently. "We've got you. Just try to relax."

Even through all the white hot pain I recognised this voice. It was Zach.

"Zach," I said weakly, fresh tears leaking from the corners of my eyes. "Please kill me, Zach. Make it stop."

"She said my name," I heard Zach say excitedly. "She's knows me! That's good, right?"

"I don't know how any of this can be considered good," muttered the female voice. "Vitz, get the morphling. We need to numb the pain."

"We should have numbed the pain hours ago!" Zach shouted angrily. "We should have gotten the morphling as soon as the screaming started!"

"We didn't know how long it would last for!" the female voice shouted back, sounding even angrier. "For all we know, she could have lost consciousness after a few seconds."

"No, you just wanted to see if she would die before you needed to use up your precious morphling!"

Before the female voice could shout back a reply, music filled the air, cutting off all forms on conversation. Even in my pain-filled state, I could tell what it was. It was the Capitol anthem and, if I could see, I would be able to see the face of the poor tribute that was killed today spread out across the sky.

"It's the kid from District 12," I heard the deep voice say sympathetically. "It was bound to happen sometime."

"I hope it wasn't the fire that got him," Zach said as he stroked my hair. "That's a pretty painful way to go."

"Rather a fire than a Career," the female said darkly. "I'd much rather die from a fire than at the hands of Sierra."

"_And I'd have much rather died from the fire than from the hands of you, Evelyn."_

I didn't recognise this new voice, so I opened my eyes a tiny crack. Above me, and staring down with her bright blue eyes, was the face of the small District 3 girl. The girl that I'd killed on the day of the bloodbath.

"_You killed me, Evelyn."_

"No!" I shouted, thrashing around violently in Zach's arms. "No! Go away! Don't hurt me!"

"Evelyn!" cried Zach in surprise, trying with all his might to hold me still. "Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."

"_You killed me, Evelyn."_

"Go away," I sobbed. "Please. I didn't mean it. I didn't want to kill you."

"What?" said Zach, confused. "Evelyn, you didn't kill me. I'm still here."

"_You killed me, Evelyn."_

"No!"

I squeezed my eyes tight shut as blood started to drip from the District 3 girl's neck, willing her to go away. When I opened them again, she was gone. But she'd been replaced by a new figure, a figure clutching a little wooden ball.

"Aluma," I breathed, not believing what I was seeing. "No, you can't be here."

"_You gave me back my ball. You killed me, Evelyn."_

"I'm sorry!" I cried over and over again. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me. I didn't want to kill you."

"_But you did. You killed me, Evelyn."_

"She's hallucinating," the female voice said in a worried tone. "Vitz, where's that morphling?"

I could barely hear what my allies were doing around me. Pain shot through my body once more as the District 3 girl appeared besides Aluma.

"_You killed us, Evelyn, and now, we're going to kill you."_

The girls' blue eyes started to glow an identical shade of red and their mouths stretched into an evil grin, revealing their unusually pointed teeth. I started to struggle again as they advanced, ignoring the pain as I tried, in vain, to get as far away from the demonic figures as I could.

"_We're going to kill you, Evelyn."_

"No! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please, don't kill me!"

"Vitz, where's that morphling!"

"_We're going to kill you, Evelyn."_

Aluma reached forward, her clawed hands moving towards my mouth. I screamed again and thrashed around, but Zach was holding me too tightly. I felt the little girl's nails scrape against my teeth and I could feel her fingers stretching down my throat in a manner which felt almost like liquid. Then, in a flash, Aluma's face disappeared and was replaced by a worried looking Vitz, holding a small silver bottle against my lips.

"Thank you," I whispered as I felt the pain leave my body. "Thank you."

I closed my eyes again as I felt myself drift off into what would be a long, dreamless sleep.

**I am so sorry that this took me so long to write. I really hope that it was worth the wait. The POVs in this chapter might be short, but a lot of things happened.**

**Poor Killian :( I really enjoyed writing his character and he kept things entertaining. He will be missed. Congrats to Owlmist for guessing that he would be the next death.**

**Just a fun fact: Some snake's poison thins the recipients blood, making it unable to clot so the poison can spread quicker. That's what happened to Evelyn.**

**So, you've read about Lexi's background before the games and you've read about Maddie's. Who's next? Well that would be Vitz! Want to know more about lovable Vitz and his pregnant girlfriend, Corolla? Check out the story "Imagination and Creation" by the amazing Pawprinter andWWWShop! You can find it on Pawprinter's profile. **

**Oh and Maddie and Lexi and dominating the poll, so if you don't agree with their success you should go cast your vote!**

**Thanks for reading :)**


	23. Chapter 21: Alliances

**Angela Hopeful Winters, District 8 (13)**

The sun was showing no signs of coming over the horizon when I snuffed my fire out, but I could tell that it was nearly dawn by the small tweets coming from the huge nest above my head. The cold set in as soon as the flames were gone and I balled up my first inside my sleeves in a weak attempt to keep warm. Sadly for me it wasn't working.

I sighed, watching my breath mist out in front of my face and disappear into the darkness. I hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night and I wanted nothing more than to snuggle back up into my sleeping bag and never come out again. But again, sadly for me I wouldn't be able to do that. I really needed food.

When I heard the cannon go off the previous day, there was no doubt in my mind who it was for, but only when I say Killian's face in the sky did the truth really set in. Killian was gone and, even though I didn't like him much, I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty about his death. He must have been killed by the tribute I saw coming towards us when I was trying to urge him to get up. I'd bailed at the smallest sign of danger, which was just as bad as me actually killing him. I'd left him completely helpless. But despite my feelings of guilt over Killian's inevitable death, I was feeling slightly more annoyed that I'd used up the last of my water supply on the dying kid. Thanks to him, I was going to have to brave the Career's camp yet again.

Swinging my bow over my shoulder, I kicked my pack under a nearby bush and started to walk. The sun wasn't up yet, but the steady glow of the full moon hanging in the night sky provided enough light to see by. Unfortunately for me, that meant that I could be seen too, but beggars couldn't be choosers in my desperate situation.

As I passed through a particularly long stretch of yellow grass, I tried to push the thoughts of all the predators that could be lurking in it out of my mind. I'd seen some nasty looking creatures in my four days in the arena and I didn't fancy meeting any of them while alone in the darkness. No doubt the group of giant cats I'd spotted on day two would be able to see pretty well in the dim light.

As if on cue, I heard a growl from nearby. I jumped with fright, clutching my bow even tighter in my small hands. If I could see my knuckles, I'm sure they would be slowly turning white from the death hold I was giving my poor bow. Luckily, when I heard the growl again, it was from further away. Well if you can call that lucky. I wouldn't count hearing growls while alone in an arena of death at night lucky.

I guess not all the creatures in the arena could be bad. Some of them were actually pretty interesting looking. Like something from another planet even! My favourite by far were these strange antelope-type creatures. Well actually I don't think they'd be considered antelope, but I really have no other group to put them in. For starters, they were _much_ bigger than any of the other antelope I'd seen, and they were a sandy colour with dark brown splotches all over their bodies. Oh and their necks were about two meters long. Talk about crazy! Initially the long necks creeped me out, but once I realised that it wasn't there to kill me, I started to like the strange animals.

The walk from my camp to the Career's took me about an hour. I didn't want to be too close to them, just in case they happened to walk my way while on one of their 'hunting' trips. I didn't want to be too far either, because I needed food and water, and they were the only tributes with a permanent campsite. I'd stolen some fruit from Lexi's alliance on day 2, but when I'd gone back to see if they had any water, they were gone. Lara and Shay had also passed through my area on that day, but I was way too scared of the tall District 11 girl that I hadn't even tried to take form them. Besides, it didn't look like they had much anyway.

If there's one thing about myself that I take pride in, it's the ability to sneak around without being noticed, which is weird because I'm someone who loves to be the centre of attention. So when I reached the Career's camp, not a sound was heard except for the soft singing of the morning birds. I cast a quick glance around the camp before sneaking into the Cornucopia and saw that the young District 1 girl was on watch, leaning against a fallen tree and looking out over the river. I smiled, happy that she was no where near I was.

Once inside the Cornucopia, I scouted around for another bottle of water, quickly finding the Career's stash on the furthest wall away from the entrance. I hurried over, selecting a medium sized bottle that I didn't think would be missed and a handful of nuts for a snack for my walk home.

_So far so good_, I thought in satisfaction, popping a nut into my mouth as I hooked the bottle of water under my arm. _This just gets easier and easier._

I'd spoken too soon.

"Hello," said a pleasant voice from behind me. "Is that nut tasty? I've never had one myself, so I was wondering what you thought of it?"

I got such a fright that I dropped everything that I was holding. I turned slowly, finding myself face to face with the pretty District 1 girl. The girl who got the highest score in training.

Even though I was scared out of my mind, I answered Maddie calmly.

"Yes," I said thoughtfully, "it is pretty good. I highly recommend it."

Maddie smiled. "I'm sure anything tastes good when you're hungry, right?"

"I guess," I said with a nod, "but nuts are usually tasty. I would offer you one, but I dropped them when you came in. I don't think the five second rule applies when the ground is this dirty."

"No, I don't think it does."

Just what exactly was going on? There I was, trapped by a Career after being caught stealing from their supplies and we were talking. I couldn't decide if it was worse than being killed on the spot. All this waiting around and having a pleasant conversation was actually a bit like being tortured. I knew my death was coming, but I just didn't know when. I really couldn't see how I was going to get out of this one.

"You're Angela, right?" Maddie asked, smiling warmly at me.

I just nodded. I didn't want to play her little game any more.

"So here's the thing Ange," Maddie continued in her conversational tone. "I can call you 'Ange', right? I find Angela so formal."

"If you must..."

"Great! So Ange, the thing is I'm supposed to be on night watch tonight, and I'm meant to wake up the rest of my allies if I found some sort of intruder in out camp. That's you by the way."

"Thanks for pointing that out," I said dryly. "Without you, I would never have known."

"It's not good to mock the person that's keeping you alive," Maddie said seriously. "It could change their mind about you."

I didn't reply.

"So anyway Ange, I find that I quite like you. Being around all these older teenagers all day is actually quite a bore. It's been really refreshing talking to someone my own age for a change."

"I can't say the same for me."

Maddie ignored me and continued speaking like I hadn't said anything. "But the problem is, I'm supposed to wake up the others and so far, I haven't."

_No shit hey, _I thought sarcastically, but I didn't say anything. I'd said enough already.

"So I thought that I should cut you a deal. I'll give you a few seconds head start before I walk them all up. How does that sound?"

"Sound like I don't have much of a chance."

"You're right about that," Maddie replied glumly, "but you never know. Maybe you'll manage to out run us. Oh and you should keep the water. You'll be pretty thirsty if you do manage to get away."

"Gee thanks," I said angrily, picking up the water again. "You're so generous."

Maddie sighed. "What did I say about mocking the person that's keeping you alive?" she tutted, shaking her head. "Anyway Ange, time's really ticking here. I'm going to have to walk up the others any second now."

I didn't wait for her to say any more. Scooping up the bottle of water and tucking it under my arm once more, I pushed passed Maddie and sprinted out of the Cornucopia. I didn't bother trying to be stealthy anymore; the rest of the Career pack would be awake in a few seconds anyway and I'd be dead meet. All I could do was to keep running as fast as I could away from them. A few seconds later. I heard the shout.

"Guys! Guys, wake up! Someone's in out camp and they're getting away!"

My heart nearly stopped, even though I knew that Maddie was going to wake them, and I started to run faster, the adrenaline rushing through my veins speeding me up. The fear I felt now was nothing compared to what I was feeling in the Cornucopia. This time I was sure that I was going to die.

"Which way?" demanded an angry voice that could only have belonged to Sierra. "Which way did the little thief go?"

Maddie must have pointed in my direction, because soon I was hearing running footsteps behind me. Hearing the footsteps made it much more real to me. The Careers were after me! I was going to die. Oh the Capitol must be loving this.

I swerved, sprinting off to the left in the hopes of throwing the Careers off my trail. It didn't work and the footsteps followed my trail.

"We're coming for you," sung a voice which sounded like Naomi's. "Run little tribute, because we're coming!"

I heard laughter, the noise echoing around me in the darkness as I ran on in sheer terror. I was literally running for my life, I race that I probably would end up losing. Suddenly, an arrow whizzed over my head and I wanted nothing more than to lie down in the grass in a foetal position and just wait for them to kill me. But no, I kept on running. I wasn't dead yet. I still had a chance.

I hadn't noticed the ground was sloping downwards until I got to the river. I skidded to a halt, my heart pounding in my ears. This was it. I was trapped. If I went through the river, which admittedly didn't look to deep, the lizard-beast would get me and I would die a more painful death than I would have with the Careers. I glanced around the river as the running footsteps grew nearer. I couldn't see any of the river beasts, but I knew they must be somewhere. Was I willing to take the risk and cross the river? The shouts of glee from behind me answered my question for me. Yes, yes I was.

I plunged into the dark water, the cold hitting me like a tonne of bricks and knocking the air clean out of my chest. Gasping, I tried to stand up and walk across the river bed as quickly as I could to get to the other side. Clearly I'd underestimated the depth of the river, for soon the freezing water was up to my chest and rising higher as I moves closer and closer towards the middle of the giver. Giving up walking, I started to kick, swimming flat out to get to the opposite bank. I wasn't the strongest swimmer, but luckily Chase had taught me the basics the previous summer, so I knew enough to keep afloat. Faster than I had anticipated, I'd reached the opposite bank, and I hurled myself out of the water, shivering. Looking back, I saw that the Careers had just reached the river's edge.

"You think a little water can save you," Sierra sneered, her green eyes narrowed. "We can all swim. We'll have caught up to you before you know it."

She made a move to go down to the water's edge, but Nic caught her arm and pulled her back.

"Sierra wait," he said seriously. "Look."

He nodded at something in the dark water, and we all looked down.

The lizard-beats had finally made their arrival, and were slipping into the cold water from a small island in the middle of the river. I had never been so glad to see dangerous mutts like this before. I was saved!"

"Yeah I really don't fancy a death like Brax," said Naomi, crossing her arms. "No way I'm going in there."

"You're a disgrace on District 4," muttered Sierra as she strung an arrow to her bow. "Doesn't matter I can still hit her from here."

She couldn't. I grinned up at them as her arrow fell a few feet short of me. I'd gained a bit of confidence.

"What's up with your aim, Sierra?" I shot at her in mock concern. "Need glasses?"

Sierra glared and fired another arrow. It too was short.

"Oh goody, another arrow for my collection!" I mocked, plastering a huge fake smile on my face. "Oh you shouldn't have." I dropped my smile, glaring at the Career pack as I retrieved the arrows. "Really, you shouldn't have."

With that, I turned away from them and sprinted off into the darkness. I might have been on the wrong side of the river to my camp, but I was safe. The Career's hadn't killed me today.

**Barley "Lee" Maple, District 9 (18)**

Even though the sun was at its highest point in the sky, my day was far from bright. In fact, my day was actually quite depressing. Well I guess that's expected since I was in the Hunger Games and all, but out of all four days that I've been here, today was by far the worst.

Last night, Evelyn definitely took a turn for the worse, and soon it became clear that her wound wasn't a normal puncture wound. I'll admit that my first aid knowledge is pretty basic, but even I can tell that normal puncture wounds don't cause severe hallucinations, and I'm almost certain that Evelyn's unusually thin blood wasn't natural. No matter what we tried, it didn't want to clot and stop bleeding. We'd bound the wound as tightly as we would with the bandages we had, but even then we still had to change them every few hours when they became soaked through with her blood. Seriously, it was a miracle that she hadn't bled out already.

One thing I was sure of though, was that whoever had set that trap had done something to the arrow that had been fired into Evelyn's foot. My guess was that they'd somehow managed to poison it, which was what must have caused her blood to thin and the terrible hallucinations. Either that, or Evelyn was just going crazy from her time in the arena.

"Is she asleep?"

I looked up to see Lexi standing above me, a dead spotted bird hanging over her shoulder. Soon Vitz appeared, an identical bird in his left hand, and the two of them stared down at Evelyn, who was lying in Zach's lap, with concern. Zach had nodded off about half an hour ago and was sleeping soundly propped up against a tree.

"Yeah," I sighed, grimacing slightly. "She's been out cold for hours."

"How's the morphling supply?" Vitz asked as he put down his bird. He took Lexi's bird from her and, sitting down, started to pull out its grey feathers.

"Not looking good," I replied, glancing at Evelyn's sleeping form. "Barely enough for one last dose."

Lexi sighed and sat down besides Vitz, casting a pitying glance at Evelyn. She didn't say anything, but she didn't really have to for Vitz and me to know what she was thinking. What was going to happen when the morphling ran out? Well okay, we technically knew what would happen. Every time the silver liquid left her system, Evelyn's immense pain came right back and she screamed and screamed. Apart from the pain, the poor girl was completely terrified because of the hallucinations that plagued her mind at every waking moment. We shouted and shouted to her that they weren't real, that they were just creations of her guilty conscience, but nothing we could say got through to her. Eventually we had no choice but to give up and sit it complete silence while Zach rocked her back and fourth to try to sooth the crying girl.

So what would happen when the morphling ran out wasn't really the question. The question was: what were we going to do when it ran out? Lexi was the first to offer a suggestion.

"We should just kill her," she said quietly, not taking her eyes off Evelyn. She continued quickly when Vitz and I gave her equal looks of utter shock.

"Think about it," she explained, her voice sounding strained. "Evelyn's dying, there's no point denying it. I just don't think it's fair to let her die a slow, painful death once the morphling runs out. It would be much more humane to slit her throat while she's asleep so she wouldn't have to go through all that pain. She'd die peacefully. If it were you, wouldn't you want that? Wouldn't you want it for a loved one?"

As shocking as Lexi's statement was, I saw her point. What if it was Rye dying? I loved my boyfriend with all my heart and I wouldn't want him to suffer. The same goes for my brothers and my little sister, Zea. I'd do anything to save them from the pain. And if it were me? I'd also choose to die. I agreed with Lexi. Evelyn didn't deserve to suffer.

"No." Zach had woken up and was watching the three of us through half-closed eyes. "We're not murdering Evelyn."

I flinched at the word 'murder' and, when I looked around at the others; I saw that I wasn't the only one. Even Lexi, the one who suggested it in the first place, didn't look entirely comfortable with it.

"Zach," said Lexi softly, "there's nothing we can do for her anymore. She's dying."

"I know," Zach replied sadly, tenderly stroking Evelyn's mattered brown hair as he smiled down at her. "And that's why I've decided that it's time that we left this alliance."

Lexi made a move to protest, but Vitz stopped her.

"It's probably for the best," he said softly, looking sadly at the pair. "It's been an honour fighting with you."

Lexi smiled. "As formal as that was, Vitz, I'm going to have to agree." She turned her head to look at Zach. "I'm glad I got the chance to know you. Both of you."

"You too. I hope one of you wins."

"Don't say things like that," I said quickly. "You still have a very good chance."

Zach smiled and shook his head. "Nah, not really," he said sadly, "but I'll keep fighting right up until the very end."

Zach stood up carefully, gently resting Evelyn's head on the sandy ground. He picked up a back pack and then, bending down again, scooped Evelyn into his arms.

"Good luck guys," he said as he took a few steps backwards. "Win for us."

With one last smile, Zach turned and, holding Evelyn tightly too his chest, disappeared into the darkness. We never saw them again.

**Capri Arello, District 7 (17)**

My eyes fluttered open as the evening birds began to sing, and I let out a small cough, gasping for breath as a searing pain shot down my throat. As my eyes began to water, I felt the metal rim of a water bottle being forced between my lips and my throat started to burn as the cool liquid made contact with my smoke-damaged tissue. I choked and started to splutter, my head shooting up so violently that it smashed right into the metal water bottle, which went straight into the head of the person holding it.

A male voice swore and then said, "Watch it will you. I'm trying to help you here."

My vision was slowly coming back and soon I could make out the vague shape of a bronze-haired boy kneeling besides my body. I couldn't see any details on his face yet, but I could still tell who he was. He had to be the boy from Four.

I had no idea why he was helping me. This is a competition to the death after all, and I'd never given him any reason to feel obliged to help me. In fact, this particular boy probably had more of a reason to kill me than the others; since I was kind of rude to him during training. Ah training. That seemed like years ago when, in reality, it had only been a few days since I'd left the Capitol and entered this arena of death.

"Mmmmyoommmmhermm?" I mumbled, wincing as I felt a stabbing pain in my throat.

It was no surprise that the boy had no idea what I was saying. He moved closer, brushing my hair off my forehead as he placed the water bottle at the edge of my mouth again.

"Don't try to speak," he ordered in a gentle voice. "You'll just damage your throat even more. Just drink this."

I felt the water enter my mouth again and I tried to spit it out immediately to save the pain that I would feel when it made contact with my swollen throat. Unfortunately, the boy was much stronger than I was in my weakened state, so he managed to force the water in, holding my mouth closed until I had swallowed it all.

"I know it hurts," he said softly, pouring more water between my lips, "but you're severely dehydrated. You'll thank me for this later."

I highly doubted that I would, but I drank anyway. I was too weak to fight him off. I just gulped down the water and tried to ignore the burning pain at the back of my throat. After a while, the burning sensation started to cease and I started to enjoy the soothing feeling of the water, but all too soon, the boy pulled back the bottle and screwed the cap back on.

"More," I croaked, reaching out my hand for the bottle. But the boy just shook his head and placed the bottle back into a backpack. My backpack, I noticed.

"Mine," I said, trying my best to look angry, even though it hurt to frown. "Mine."

"Yes, I know it's yours," the boy replied slowly, "but my small bag caught on fire while I was carrying you out of that fire." He laughed. "According to my count, this is the second time that I've saved your life. Third if you count that time with Seni in the training centre. You really owe me now."

He laughed again. His laugh was pleasant, happy even, and had a care-free air to it. It was a nice sound, a sound that I hadn't heard since I'd entered the arena, but I wasn't going to let him know that. As far as he was concerned, I wanted nothing to do with him.

"Didn't ask. To save." My throat was starting to feel a little bit better, but I still struggled to get the words out. "Water."

The boy sighed and fumbled around in my bag for the bottle again. "We really shouldn't be wasting this stuff," he said with an expression that I couldn't quite place. "Between us, this is the only bottle there is."

"Melon."

"Melon?"

"In sleeping bag."

Frowning, the boy picked up my backpack and tipped out its contents all over the sandy ground. Usually I'd have shouted at someone for messing up my stuff like that, but I was much too weak to even get the words out. He quickly found my sleeping bag and after feeling its bulky end, turned it over and, behold, out rolled the melons that I'd collected on Day 2.

Despite my warning that the melons were there, the boy looked quite surprised.

"I've never a melon like this before," he said, picking it up and examining it in his hand. "But they must be safe since you've been eating them all this time. I guess some animals out here survive on them too." He opened the water bottle and pressed it against my lips again. "Alright then, you can finish it."

I drank greedily, only feeling a slight pain now when the water hit my throat. I was feeling so much better after my drink that I even managed to sit up, which meant that I would have a better look at the boy.

He was sitting about half a meter away, watching me with a concerned look in his golden eyes. His bronze hair was hanging slightly in his face, glimmering softly in the dying light, and his expression was thoughtful as he surveyed my face. One thing that I really took note of though, was his skin.

"You're pale for District 4," I

The boy looked put out. "I most certainly am not," he declared, shaking his hair out of his eyes. "The ones you're used to seeing are those volunteer idiots who spend most of their time making themselves look pretty for their Games." He paused. "But then again, everyone in District 4 is super attractive, so I guess they're just trying to live up to their name." He flipped back his hair and gave me a cheeky smile.

"And then they got you."

The boys smile dropped so quickly that it looked like it had never been there in the first place. Yes, there was no doubt that this boy was beyond cute, but there was no way that I was going to tell him that. He'd never let it go if I did anyway."

"I'll have you know that I'm above average when it comes to looks in my district."

"Then I guess District 4 isn't as good-looking as everyone thinks it is."

The boy glared at me, but then his face softened and he burst into laughter.

"Oh they must be loving this back home," he chucked, looking up into the sky as if there was some invisible camera there. "I'm really not the vain type."

"Could have fooled me."

"Look," he snapped, turning his attention back on me, "I'm trying to be nice here, so just shut up and take it."

"Well that wasn't very nice."

The boy groaned and fell backwards into the grass, looking up at the sky again with his strange golden eyes.

"No I guess it wasn't. Let's start over shall we? My name is Lance Wolff and I'm from District 4. What's your name?"

"I'm not starting over. Too late for that."

"Well aren't you a little ray of sunshine," he said sarcastically, sitting up again. "Fine then, I'll just have to name you myself." He paused, an expression of mock thought crossing his face. "How about Linda? Or Simone?" He paused again, examining my face. "Nah, you're definitely a Linda."

"What kind of a name is Linda?" I demanded, trying my best not to laugh. "Seriously? Linda?"

Lance shrugged. "You kind of look like a Linda."

"I do not look like a Linda!"

Lance laughed. "So what do you look like then?" he asked.

I sighed. There was really no point to this. "Capri," I said simply. "Capri Arello from District 7."

"Yeah I know," he replied with a small laugh. "I just really wanted to hear you say it."

"You're annoying," I said irritably, crossing my arms around my knees. "You know that, right?"

"And you're Capri."

"Oh just shut up."

Lance laughed, grinning like a maniac at my annoyance. Then he shivered.

"The temperature's really dropping," he said, wrapping his jacket more tightly around himself. "Tonight's gonna be a killer."

"Yeah, I guess that Gamemakers thought it would be amusing to freeze us all to death after we nearly burned," I said dryly. "Must be fun being a Gamemaker."

"Don't joke about that," Lance replied seriously. "They might just agree with you on that and then we're done for." Then his face split into a grin again. "Dibbs on the sleeping bag!"

"What? I cried. "Uh uh, no way! It's mine. I'm sleeping in it."

"Well since we're in an alliance, we share everything now. It belongs to me too."

"We're not in an alliance!"

"Well I say we are, so we are." He tipped the rest of the melons out of the dark sleeping bag and crawled inside. "Ah, so warm," he said happily. He looked up at me and continued, "You're pretty small. I bet we could both fit in here.  
"There's no way in hell that I'm sharing a sleeping bag with you."

Lance laughed. "Well we're already in hell, so I guess that's a yes?"

"Shut up."

"Suite yourself," he chuckled, burrowing down so that only his head was showing. "But that little jacket won't keep you warm for long. You'll see."

The Capitol anthem started to play and soon I could see the seal displayed in the sky. I was glad for the music. It meant that I didn't have to talk to Lance.

I tucked my knees into my jacked and huddled up, shivering. Mist appeared in front of my face with every breath and soon my nose was so cold that it felt like it was going to fall off. Lance was right. This was by far the coldest night we'd had so far.

I don't know how many hours I sat there huddled up in my jacket with only Lance's soft snores for company. I was shivering violently, my face so cold that it felt like all the moisture in my eyes had dried up. After that fire, I never thought I'd be able to feel anything cold again. But I was wrong. This was cold. No, this was worse than cold. This was torture.

And then I couldn't take it anymore. Uncurling my cramped legs, I started to crawl to where Lance was asleep in the sleeping bag. I didn't want to share, but I had no other choice. I would freeze to death without him.

"Move over," I muttered as I reached him. "It's cold out here."

"Thought you might change your mind," he said with a smug smile, his eyes still closed. "Come on then."

He shifted over and I slid into the bag besides him. The warmth was so welcoming that I nearly burst into tears. Maybe Lance was good for something after all. Keeping me warm.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

"Night."

**Okay, I am so sorry that this took so long! I've been so busy lately that I've had hardly any time to sit down and write. Plus my laptop charger is broken so that makes it even harder! But I promise I'll make it up to you! So...the next chapter (which is nearly finished) will be a short bonus chapter. What is this bonus chapter? Well you'll have to see! Oh and the chapter after that will contain two deaths. You'll get extra sponsor points if you guess them both correctly.**

**So I'm guessing you guys like the Hunger Games, right? Well I sure hope so since you're reading this...anyways, I found this fic containing another version of the 49th Hunger Games and I really suggest you check it out. And review it! I promise that you won't be disappointed. The writing style and characterisation is simply amazing. It's called "Tension: the 49th Hunger Games" and it's by glitchmob9. You can find it on her profile.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you all review! And after you do, go to my profile and vote for your three tributes on my all-new poll! Please **


	24. Chapter 22: Death in the Outer Districts

**So this is the bonus chapter I was telling you about. A reviewer asked me if I could do some chapters from the POV of a family/friend as they watch the person they care about die in the arena. I thought it was such a good idea that I started writing this chapter immediately, but then I remembered that I was still busy with a different chapter so this was put on hold.**

**I'll be writing chapters like this every two or three deaths, so expect more. I hope this makes up for the late post. Oh, and don't you just love it when cannon characters pop up in fics like this?**

**Mari Cross, District 10 (13) **

_Younger sister of Braxton Cross (deceased)_

"Scrambled or fried?"

I glanced over at my brother, Hatchett, from across the kitchen table. He knew exactly what I wanted, but I guess he was just trying to make conversation to break the tense atmosphere in the room. It was the morning of the third day of the Hunger Games and, since our brother was still alive, Hatch decided to move back in with us until the Games were finished. His live-in girlfriend was quite annoyed (she's never really liked my family for some reason), but Hatch brought her along anyway. Thanks to her, I had to give up my bedroom and bunk with Carlo; who snored so loudly that it's a miracle that the rest of the district doesn't come banging down out door in the middle of the night to tell him to shut up.

"Scrambled, like always," I sighed, resting my tired head on the table's top. "Have you really been gone so long that you don't remember how I like my eggs?"

Hatchett laughed. "It sure has been a while," he replied, cracking my eggs into the tiny pan. "I live so far away now, and Hayley isn't a huge fan of farms so we don't often come to this area."

I knew it wasn't the farm that Hayley wasn't a fan of, but I kept my mouth shut.

"Speaking of Hayley, where is the little princess?"

"Still asleep," Hatch chuckled. "She usually doesn't get up until ten."

"Lucky her! I can hardly sleep knowing that Brax is in the Hunger Games!"

Hatchett didn't reply. He just kept stirring the eggs, a pained expression on his face. Even though he never said it, it was no secret that Brax was his favourite sibling. It was just the two of them before Carlo and I came alone, and they'd always been close. They even looked the same, both tall, lanky with short, light brown hair, and sometimes when they spoke, they sounded exactly the same that you had to look up to see who was speaking. Thinking about this made me miss my brother even more.

"Me neither," Hatch said solemnly, spooning some scrambled eggs onto my toast before putting the plate down on the kitchen table. "Alright, I worked hard on these so eat up!"

"Oh please," I laughed, taking the plate. "You've been making eggs since before I was born."

"True that," he replied, dividing the rest of the rest of the eggs onto three plates. "Come on, we'd better join the others."

Picking up my plate, I followed him out of the kitchen to join Carlo and my mother in the lounge. My father had to go to work early that morning so he was unable to watch Braxton's progress with us, but I don't think he minded much. He didn't want to watch Brax anyway.

"Finally!" exclaimed Carlo as he grabbed the plate out of my hands and immediately started to shovel the eggs into his mouth. "You guys took forever."

"Carlo, manners," tutted our mother, politely thanking Hatchett as she took her plate. "Or next time you're making your own breakfast."

"Sorry Mom."

I sat down between Carlo and Hatchett on the couch and trained my eyes on the TV. It showed the red haired girl from District 12 as she sat on top of the giant birds' nest that she'd found on Day One. She wasn't doing much, so the picture was quickly changed to a picture of the District 6 boy and girl who were walking slowly through the long yellow grass, obviously looking for something to eat. Then the picture changed again and I found myself looking at the sleeping form of my brother.

"Brax!" cried Carlo, throwing up his hands in excitement. "Woo hoo!"

"We can see," said my mother breathlessly, happy to see that her son was still alive. "Now shhh."

I was so proud of my big brother for making it to day three. And allying with the Career pack too! I admired him so much for being able to do that, especially because we come from an outlaying district where the concept is practically unheard of. Maybe he even had a chance of winning this thing.

"Damn she's hot," whistled Carlo as the camera zoomed in on the District 4 girl on watch.

"Brax obviously thinks so too," Hatchett chuckled, still watching the screen. "Seriously, have you seen the way he looks at her?"

I had seen it, and I didn't like it one bit. I had to agree with Carlo that she was pretty, but that's what made me trust her even less than I already did. She hadn't done anything to make me not trust her, yet, but I couldn't help feeling uneasy as I watched Naomi twist a strand of her blonde hair around her little finger. I didn't like the look in her bright blue eyes as that flickered across her sleeping allies in the ground.

Suddenly, she lifted her eyes upwards and began to squint at something in the sky. The camera tilted and soon we could see it too; a tiny silver parachute gliding swiftly towards the ground. Smiling, Naomi stood up to catch it, turning it over in her delicate hands a few times, before a manic grin spread over her pretty face. I felt a shiver run down my spine. This wasn't going to end well.

"What is she doing?" wondered Hatchett as we watched Naomi skip down to the crocodile-filled river. "Is she crazy?"

"Shh," whispered Carlo, sitting forward in his seat. "Just watch."

Naomi tossed the parachute and its contents into the river and started to jog back up the hill towards the camp. My whole family was silent, watching intently, wondering just what Naomi was going to do next. I wish I never found out.

"Oh my God," breathed Carlo, putting a hand over his mouth in shock. "She's waking Brax. She's going to get him to fetch the parachute from the river!"

"He won't agree to it," Hatch quickly replied, sounding like he didn't even believe what he was saying. "She's from District 4. He knows she can swim. He knows it!"

But he didn't. Brax allowed himself to be shaken awake and lead down the hill towards the river. Naomi's arm was linked through his the entire time, and she fluttered her eyelashes at him every time she spoke, causing him to blush slightly. She obviously knows that he had a crush on her and was using it against him. She was going to kill him.

"Don't do it, Brax!" I shouted as he took off his shirt, preparing to dive into the river. "It's a trap!"

"He can't hear you, sweety," said my mother in dismay. "All we can do now is hope."

The lounge was deathly silent as we watched Braxton swim across the river. Thank God our father had always insists that we learn how to swim. Brax was always the strongest swimmer out of the four of us, and soon is had reached the parachute and was swimming back to the bank.

"Yeah!" cheered Carlo, pumping his fist into the air. "Come on bro; you can do it!"

"He's nearly back," said my mother in relief, her hand still on her heart. "Come on darling, swim!"

I was the first to notice the green-scaled beast slip into the water on the far bank.

"They're coming!" I screamed, pointing to the screen where more and more crocodiles were sliding into the water. "Swim Brax! Swim!"

We were all shouting now, cheering Brax on as he swam towards the bank which never seemed to get any closer. I honestly thought that he was going to make it. I was probably cheering the loudest, until he disappeared under the water.

We stopped cheering at once, leaning even closer to the TV to try to catch a glimpse of Braxton. His head appeared above the water again and he started shouting to Naomi for help. She just stood there, laughing. As he waved up at her, a crocodile grabbed his outstretched hand and started to pull him away. The camera zoomed in close and we got a good view of his panic-stricken face. He knew he was going to die.

I burst into tears, burring my head in Hatchett's lap. He stroked my hair comfortingly, but continued to watch. Even though I couldn't see it happening, I still heard Braxton's screams at the beasts started to tear him to shreds. I clamped my hands down hard over my ears as I heard my mom begin to sob. It was all way too much for me. I stayed in that position until Hatchett stopped stroking my hair.

"It's over, Mari," he said quietly. "He's gone."

"That little bitch!" shouted Carlo, tears streaming down his face as he leapt out of his seat. "I hope she gets it! I hope she-" He broke down, unable to continue.

Hatchett gently pushed me off his lap and stood up.

"I'm going to wake Hayley. We're going home today."

**Trek Tragster, District 12 (17)**

_Older brother of Killian Tragster (diseased)_

The musty bar was bustling with activity when I pushed the door open, the little bell that hung above its ring lost in the noise of the crowd. "Joe's bar" or simply "Joe's", as it was often called, had always been a popular hang out spot amongst the Seam dwellers, but today it was much more full than usual and I had to really fight my way through the throngs of people before I got anywhere close to the bar.

"White liquor," I said to the barman and owner of the place, Joe.

He eyed me suspiciously. "And how old are you?"

"Old enough," I sneered, slapping a few coins on the counter. "I'll be over there." I pointed to where a group of teenagers, my friends, were lounging against the edge of the bar, watching the large TV displaying the most recent updates of the Hunger Games on the wall opposite them. They all had drinks in their hands, even though none of them were legally allowed to, and they seemed to be having a pretty good time; talking and laughing amongst themselves as they occasionally glanced up at the screen. These were the kids at school that everyone wanted to be. I smirked as I walked towards them. I really didn't blame them.

"Has the twerp been on yet?" I asked, grinning as I reached them.

"Not yet," replied Drake, giving me a fist-bump as I took the chair next to him. "But they haven't shown him for a while, so he might come up soon."

"I don't blame them if they don't bother to," I scoffed, grabbing Drake's drink and taking a swig. "He's pretty boring."

"True that!"

"That other Seam girl is doing better than expected though," said another boy; Thinus. "And she's not that bad looking either."

"Oh please," sighed the girl besides him, rolling her heavily mascaraed Seam-grey eyes. "She's in my maths class and quite a loser. She hangs out with Abernathy's crowd."

"Abernathy has a crowd?"

My comment earned laughs from all around the group, but the girl just rolled her eyes again.

"Whatevs."

"So where's the girlfriend today?" Drake asked as I finally received my drink from the barman. "She too good to hang out in a place like this?"

I laughed, drinking deeply from the white liquor bottle. "Yeah, probably. She's probably too good to hand out in any of the places around the Seam."

The girl with the heavily mascaraed eyes rolled them again. "Those merchant class kids think they're too good for us Seam borns. Snobby little brats."

"_Hot, _snobby little brats," I corrected her. "And who are you anyway? I don't remember inviting you to hang out with us."

"Astrid," she said with another roll of her eyes. "I'm with Drake."

Drake shrugged. "What can I say? It's not only the Merchant's who are hot."

"And speaking of hot," Thinus cut in, nodding towards the bar's door. "Isn't that your little girlfriend coming in now?"

I craned my neck to see the girl coming in. She was very pretty, with long, classically merchant blonde hair and light blue eyes. She was wearing a clean white dress that ended just above her knees; looking very out of place in the dirty atmosphere of the bar.

"Nah," I said, going back to my drink. "That's Maysilee. The other one."

"Oh right, I keep on forgetting that she has a twin. How cool would it be if you had both of them?"

"Don't give him any ideas," Drake said quickly. "It would ruin my chances with her."

Heavily mascaraed Astrid shot him a dirty look as the rest of us laughed.

"Don't kid yourself. You have no chance anyway."

I leant away from the bar's counter and, rocking backwards on my chair, waved Maysilee over. I look of relief crossed her worried face as she caught sight of someone she knew and she pushed through the crowd towards us, being as careful as she could not to accidently touch anyone. It was clear she felt just as out of place as she looked.

"Hi, May," I said with a smirk. "Decided to come down and have a drink with us Seam kids?"

Maysilee ignored me. "Is my sister here?" she asked coldly.

"Wow May," I said in fake surprise. "Not even a 'hello'? I though you Merchants were supposed to all upper-class and polite?"

"Just tell me where she is. She said that she was coming down here to watch the Games with you. Unlike you, she's actually concerned for your brother."

I took another sip of my drink. "Just because you and your sister are all super close, doesn't mean every other family is." I held the bottle out to her, but she shook her head, an annoyed glare on her face. "Look, I haven't seen her today, okay? If you're not going to be nice, go away and pester someone else."

Maysilee opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off from a loud cheer from the bar. My head snapped towards the TV to see what all the commotion was about.

The red-haired District 12 girl was walking slowly through the arena's yellow grass, and boy, was she a mess. Her once-neat hair was in tangles around her dirty face; falling out of the messy ponytail she'd probably tried to tie that morning. Her olive skin was even darker with dirt now; her sweat leaving behind small tracks as it ran down her skinny body. It was obviously a scorching hot day and she had tied up her shirt, revealing her stomach. I could count every rib.

"Woo hoo! Go Vee!" shouted a girl sitting at a nearby table. I shot her an annoyed look before turning my attention back on Maysilee.

"So what's it going to be? Are you staying? Or going?"

"Well I'm certainly not staying with you," she snapped, her blue eyes looking me up and down. "But I've always liked Vee, so I'll watch her from somewhere else."

With that, she turned on her heel and matched off to join the table of the girl who had cheered for Vee. My eyes followed her every step, until Drake tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Dude, it's your little bro."

I looked back up at the TV again where, sure enough, Killian's image was displayed on the screen. The kid didn't look good. If I hadn't known better, I'd have said he was dead already.

The little twerp was lying, face up, in the dirt and, even though his little bug-eyes were closed, you could still see the tear tracks that were fresh on his pale cheeks. Oh that's just great. Apart from being a total loser, he had to be a total cry-baby too.

"Poor little thing," muttered a nearby woman. "He's so young."

I rolled my eyes at her comment. Yeah, the kid was young, but that really wasn't any excuse to cry about it. Seriously, he'd been a disappointment from the very beginning. Well he didn't cry at the reaping so let me rephrase that: the twerp had been a disappointment ever since his pathetic training score. His interview was a complete joke and I could hardly watch the bloodbath because of the complete embarrassment of the whole situation. What kind of moron leaves the Cornucopia with nothing? My brother, that's who!

The camera moved to Vee again, which caused another great cheer from the crowd, who was running now. At first I thought that she was running away from something, or someone, but when my loser brother came into view I knew exactly what she was doing. As much as I hoped she would, she'd never kill him because of her stupid promise to her baby sister, so I guess she must be running over to help him.

Sure enough, Vee dropped to her knees besides Killian and started to gabble in a concerned voice. It was clear that my brother wasn't very keen on her being there because he quickly slapped her hand away from his face, swearing at her. This earned a few laughs from the crowd.

"The mouth on that kid!" shouted Drake, thumping me on the back. "He must get that from you."

"Shut up."

Vee was angry now had grabbed the twerp's collar, junking him upright so that his little rat-face was only inches away from her.

"Kiss!" shouted a voice from the crowd. A few people laughed at this, but the tension on screen was too high for most to look away from it. I honestly thought Vee was going to kill him, but instead she pulled him into a standing position and commanded him to drink. And like the little bitch he is, he obeyed.

"She's so kind," sighed a girl in the crowd. "Even though he abandoned her, she's still trying to help him."

I had to agree with the girl. Killian definitely didn't deserve anything, let alone help from his ally that he ditched! Karma was going to get him for that sooner or later. Personally, I hoped sooner.

And it looked like my wish was about to come true.

The camera switched again, this time showing four members of the Career pack. The blond District 2 girl was out in front, followed by her brother and the District 4 boy, who were walking side by side, and then the little District 1 girl, Maddie. Suddenly, the District 2 girl's face lit up and she pointed at something, shrugging her bow off her shoulder as she did so. It was obvious that she'd seen Vee and Killian.

"Run Vee!" shouted the girl Maysilee had gone to sit with. "They're coming!"

Oh shut up. It's not like they can hear you anyway.

Vee and Killian were running now, Vee dragging my brother along as he struggled to keep up. Surprisingly, I felt slightly relieved, which was strange considering that I hated his guts and wanted nothing more than to see him die in the Games.

My stomach dropped when I saw where they were headed.

Vee was looking fearfully behind her and Killian's eyes were closed, so they probably wouldn't notice the Gamemakers' massive fire before it was too late. As much as I hated the tool, I didn't would rather he didn't burn to death.

I nearly slapped myself for thinking such thoughts. No, I hated by brother and I wanted to see him suffer. I was NOT going to feel sorry for him. Especially in this bar full of people!

The Careers had entered the fire now, sprinting flat out after the District 12 tributes.

The District 4 boy was cut off by the flames, forced to find another path.

The other three Careers kept running, the girl both shooting arrows after the fleeing District 12s.

Vee was tiring, panting hard with the effort of pulling Killian along, her grey eyes wide with fear.

Killian was crying, but I wasn't sure if it was from fear of from all the smoke surrounding him.

Killian was falling behind, forcing Vee to drag him more and more with every step.

Killian tripped.

Vee's hand was ripped out of his and he went down, hitting the burning ground hard. I expected good-girl-Vee to turn back to help him up, but she kept going. Soon a wall of fire had blocked her off from my brother. He had no way out.

The bar was deathly quiet, every pair of eyes trained on the wall TV. Even I had nothing to say to this. I'd always know my brother was going to die in the Games, hell I was even excited to see it, but now I wasn't so sure how I felt about the whole situation. Burning to death on live TV certainly wasn't a nice way to go.

Killian was screaming now, realising that he was trapped. He called and called for Vee, but she never came. Smoke filled his lungs with every breath and soon he was doubled over, coughing and clutching his chest. Breathing was getting harder and harder.

He'd given up looking for an escape and was now standing still in the middle of a ring of fire, trying to stay away from the flames for as long as possible. He didn't even have enough air to scream with when the sleeve of his jacket caught fire. He flailed about in a desperate attempt to get it off, but nothing he could do would work. Soon the fire was spreading up his sleeve towards his shoulder, and then across his chest. Soon his whole body was on fire; a flaming mass of burning cloth and melted skin. The cannon couldn't come soon enough.

No one spoke. Everyone was looking at me, waiting for a hint of a reaction. I felt empty and I started up at the screen in complete shock, not believing what I had just seen. By brother, the kid that I'd hated from the day he was born, was dead. D-E-A-D. Dead as in 'not alive'. Dead as in never coming home from the Hunger Games. I think the severity of the whole situation only hit me once Killian was actually dead. I guess a small part of me actually hoped that he'd be okay.

"Trek, I'm so sorry."

I turned away from the TV screen (and the replay of Killian's death) to find Maysilee standing behind me with tears in her eyes. That snapped me back to reality.

"Oh please," I sneered. "That loser was dead to me the moment he was reaped. It was only a matter of time before the dead-twerp-walking actually became a dead twerp."

A few of my friends laughed as a shocked expression crossed Maysilee's face. She definitely wasn't expecting that. This gave me more confidence.

"Did you see his face?" I laughed, turning to my friends again. "'Help me, Vee! Save my little loser life!'," I mimicked in a high-pitch voice. "Seriously, what a joke."

More laughs, but they were quickly cut off by Maysilee, who grabbed me by the hair and pulled my face towards hers, looking me straight in the eye.

"I don't know what my sister sees in you, you vile little insect," she spat, her blue eyes cold. "Go to hell."

Looks like she got there first.


	25. Chapter 23: Revenge

**Seni Gold, District 1 (17)**

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

I crossed my arms and glared down at the two girls lying on the flat rock in front of me. Both of them had stripped down to their underwear and were lying on their backs, their faces tilted up towards the midday sun.

Sierra's eyes snapped open. "We're tanning dumbass," she sneered, closing her eyes again. "Now move, you're blocking our sun." When I didn't go anywhere, she opened one eye and said, "Why are you still here?"

"It's bloody day 7!" I roared, startling both girls whose eyes quickly opened. "We've been here for a week, and how many tributes have we managed to kill since the bloodbath? None!"

"Correction," stated Naomi, propping herself up on her elbows. "I killed Brax. Remember?"

"That doesn't count," I snarled. "It's not like we hunted him, and he was a complete moron anyway. Kind of like you guys! What the hell is sitting here on your asses going to accomplish? I say we go kill some tributes!"

"So go kill some then," sighed Sierra, settling back down on her rock. "Oh and go re-fill the water bottles while you're away. We're running a bit low."

"You're lucky that I haven't decided to kill you!"

Naomi snorted and Sierra turned to her and said, "Cute, he thinks he could take us."

"Oh I _know _I can take you."

The girls raised their eyebrows at each other and burst into another fit of giggles.

"Sure you can, Seni."

"Yeah, whatever makes you sleep at night."

There was a sigh from nearby and I turned to see Nic sitting on a higher rock, sharpening his sword with a flat rock.

"Best not to get involved," he said, nodding towards the girls. "They're in a strange mood today."

I rolled my eyes at him and walked off, annoyed. I really hated Sierra and Naomi's new-found friendship. Where had that come from anyway? It was like Naomi had flipped a switch on her personality and suddenly transformed into this vicious, bitchy teenaged girl. I won't lie, it is quite hot, but I definitely preferred the old Naomi a whole lot more. This new one isn't as much fun for me.

"Well don't you look happy," Maddie said sarcastically as I sat down opposite her. The small girl was cooking some kind of bird over the hot coals of our dying fire, occasionally blowing on the embers so that small flames engulfed the meat before simmering down again. She seemed to know what she was doing.

"Shut up," I muttered, watching her blow on the coals once more. "What you got there?"

Maddie shrugged. "It was a spotted chicken-like thing before I got it," she said. "Hopefully it tastes like one."

"You should crumble some of those green nuts over it."

Maddie looked up, eyebrows raised. "You're giving me cooking advice? Wow, I would never have expected that."

Now it was my turn to shrug. "I have four sisters," I explained as Maddie blew on the fire again. "It's hard not to pick up things like this."

"It's strange how little I actually know about you," Maddie said thoughtfully. "You are my district partner after all. Plus you'd been picked as this year's male tribute whilst the 48th Games were still running. I should know you."

She had a point. It was strange that she didn't know who I was. I'd always thought that everyone in the district knew about me. I mean, I'm top of the Training Academy at the moment and there was a big announcement last year when they finally decided that I would be this year's male tribute. I always thought that girls knew who I was, especially since I'm so easy on the eyes.

Maybe it was because she wasn't from the Training Academy. The rules there are pretty strict, especially when it comes to volunteering and anyone under the age of sixteen (well unless they had special permission) would be severely punished if they made it back from the Games alive. I thought it was a pretty stupid rule, but it made sense to have it there to ensure that only the best tributes ever got the chance to volunteer. Maddie had been trained by her father and had probably never even stepped foot inside the Academy, so this rule wouldn't have applied to her anyway. The girl who was supposed to volunteer, Octavia, was quite pissed off though.

"So tell me about your sisters," Maddie said after a long pause. "I'm an only child, though I would love to have a younger sibling."

"Oh trust me, you wouldn't," I said dryly. "They can be quite annoying."

"I'd still like to know about them."

I sighed. "Well the second eldest in my family is Gulianna," I explained. "It's spelt with a "G" but it's pronounced with a "J". Stupid right? Anyways, she's 15 and looks a lot like I do, except more like a girl. She's at the Training Academy, but probably won't be a volunteer. Her head is too full of air for that."

I stopped speaking as images of my younger sister filled my head. I couldn't decide if I was relieved or not that Gulianna wouldn't be a volunteer. Sure it was a great honour and everything, but would it all be worth it to risk her life?

"Who's next?"

I blinked hard, clearing my head of the thoughts of my sister and continued. "Well next is 14-year-old Serenity, though she's far from peaceful. She prefers to go by "Ren" and is probably more like a guy than I am. She even cut off most of her hair last month! She's also at the Training Academy and will probably be the female volunteer in a few years. She's very skilled with a sword."

Pictures of Ren danced across my vision and I stopped speaking once more. Out of all my siblings, she was definitely the one that I was the closest to. We would often train together, cheered on by Gulianna before she got bored and went out with her many friends. Ren poured her whole life into her Career training and one day it would pay off. There was no doubt in my mind that she would win her Games."

"I remember her. Wasn't she the girl who did that Career demonstration in Town Square last month?"

I nodded. "Yeah, she and my friend Zana were part of the sparring section."

"She was really good," Maddie said with a smile, poking the fire again. "I'm sure many kids wanted to sign up for the Academy after that."

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not."

"Yeah, I'm not too sure either."

We lapsed into silence after that, Maddie turning her roasted bird over the fire while I stared deeply into the embers. There was something relaxing, almost therapeutic, about sitting there in silence, but it was broken too soon by Maddie asking about my third sister.

"Her name is Satin," I answered, snapping out of my trance, "and she's eleven. Wants to enter the Career academy next year like the rest of us, but I don't think she'd be able to handle it."

"Why not?"

"Because she's Satin," I said, shrugging. "It's not her thing. She's super smart, but she doesn't seem to have that killer instinct that the rest of us have. And that's saying something since Gulianna hardly has any!"

"She seems sweet."

"She is," I agreed, "and beautiful too. She'll probably end up being crowned Miss District One instead of becoming a tribute in the Hunger Games." I paused. "I can't really explain it. This," I gestured around us, "just really isn't her thing."

"I get it," said Maddie. "Just not her thing. So who's the youngest?"

"Soon to be second youngest," I corrected her. "My mom's about to have another daughter."

Maddie raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.

"Anyway, the youngest at the moment is Pearl and she's eight."

"Pearl?" said Maddie, frowning. "Isn't that more of a District 4 name?"

I nodded. "Yeah it is, but my mother noticed a girl with that name in one of the Games and she'd liked it ever since. She wanted to name Gulianna that and when my father disagreed, she tried to name Ren and Satin that too. I guess he just had enough when Pearl was born and agreed to it."

"She sure has perseverance," laughed Maddie.

"Well she was in the Hunger Games, so I guess she needed it to survive."

Maddie looked up. "I never knew that your mother was a victor."

"I didn't think it was important."

"What Games?"

"Twenty-sixth."

Maddie's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh I know that one!" she exclaimed, her blue eyes bright with excitement. "My dad has a whole lot on DVD and we used to watch them together when I was younger. I didn't realise that your mother is April Dusk."

"April Gold now," I said with a grin. "But yeah, that's her. I've never seen her Games though. She wouldn't let me."

"Weird, my dad made me watch his all the time." Maddie paused. "In fact, Daddy makes me watch the Games every year. Seni, is Gold a common surname is our district?"

I frowned, surprised by the question. "No more common than yours," I replied. "Why?"

"Because there was a boy by the name of Luster Gold in the Games a few years ago. He won."

Hearing Luster's name was a huge blow to the heart. I felt like someone had taken a brick and wacked me over the head with it. I hadn't heard his name for a very long time, since my family never talks about him anymore, and it sounded weird for someone I barely knew to say my big brother's name.

Luster had won his Games at eighteen, killing the boy from District 2 in a brutal fight at the end. I was only twelve at the time and I completely idolised my big brother. He was everything that I wanted to be, everything that I had become now. But just as I started to make a name for myself in the Career Academy, Luster died. He was only twenty one.

To this day I still don't know why it happened. All I know was that the Capitol found him guilty of something and he had to pay for it with his life. There were rumours of course, many saying that he'd been involved with some kind of anti-Capitol movement, but I never took any of them seriously. Luster loved the Capitol. They're the reason that he became great. Right?

It was true that Luster wasn't the same person he was when he came back form the Games. He became distant and withdrawn and, though he tried to hide it, had terrible nightmares at night, always crying out for a girl names Pearl. I guess it was this girl that my mother names my sister after.

Pearl was one of Luster's allies in the Career pack; a pretty little thing from District 4. She and Luster grew quite close during the course of the Games, spending a total of twenty-eight days together before Pearl was killed in her sleep by their 'ally', the District 2 boy. Luster made sure to get revenge.

"We don't talk about him," I said sharply, looking away. "Ever."

"Okay, sorry I asked."

We fell silent again. I was almost thankful when I heard a shrill squeal from the direction of where Sierra and Naomi were laying tanning.

"Oh look Sierra! Someone has sent us some knives! Maybe we should take our clothes off more often!"

Sierra giggled, a strange sound when it came from Sierra who hardly ever laughed. "Imagine what we'd get if we undressed completely."

"Don't you dare!" I heard Nic shout from nearby. "I swear Sierra, if you do-Oh God Naomi! Put it back on!"

**Vee Clesta, District 12 (15)**

_**This takes place three days before the previous POV.**_

I was on a boat, bobbing gently up and down as the sea swelled underneath me. I had never been on a boat before, let alone seen the sea, but I figured that must be what it felt like. Where else could I be then? I opened my eyes.

The hard ground rushed up to meet my face so quickly that I had to blink a few times to get my vision to focus. Okay, so I clearly wasn't on the water. But where was I then? Even though I was on solid ground, I felt as if I were moving. And the ground was moving too! Up and down and up and down and up and down in a steady rhythm. Was I dreaming?

As the feeling started to come back to my body, I felt the strong pair of hands against my legs and I soon realised that I was being carried over someone's shoulder. I screamed.

The person holding me got such a fright that they released me instantly, sending me crashing down, headfirst, towards to ground. I make contact with a thud, my mouth filling up with dry sand and I coughed.

"Lara, that isn't very nice," said a small voice. A figure bent over me, silhouetted against the hot, midday sun. "Hi," she said, extending a hand. "I'm Shay. Are you okay?"

I sat up, blinking hard. The girl standing over me couldn't have been more than twelve, with light brown hair and bright, sky-blue eyes that looked down at me with concern. I recognised her as the girl from District 10. Which meant that the angry girl from Eleven must be nearby. And so she was, just a few feet away.

"I still think we should have left her there," Lara said irritably, crossing her arms. "She's more trouble than she's worth. She's already used up half our water supply alone!"

"Um, I'm right here," I said, annoyed. "And I didn't make you take me. I didn't even ask! I don't even remember drinking your water."

"That's 'cause you were asleep," explained Shay pleasantly. "I had to drip it down your throat."

"Gee thanks."

Shay crossed her arms. "You know," she said, "you should be a little more grateful to us. We saved your life."

"Fat lot of good that is since I'm going to die anyway," I muttered.

Lara bent down until her face was right in front of mine. "Listen here, District 12," she spat, glaring at me, "if it was up to me, I'd have left you right there in the middle of the fire. But no, Shay made me run in and save your sorry ass! So show her some respect!"

Usually, I would have got right up and punched the person speaking to me like that right in the jaw. But Lara wasn't just 'some person'. That girl was scary! Plus, she did save my life after all. I owed her.

"Got any food?" I asked, looking from her to Shay with what I hoped was a hopeful expression on my face. "I'm starving."

Shay's little face broke into a smile. "Yeah!" she said in her usual cheery voice. "We have some bread if you'd like?"

"Please."

Shay shrugged the pack she was carrying off her small shoulders and unzipped it quickly, taking out about half a loaf of bread tightly tied up in a see-through packet. She tossed it to me, warning me not to take to much as I ripped it open.

"Wait!" she cried suddenly as I was about to take a bite into the bread.

I nearly dropped it in surprise. "What?" I asked. "If there a bug on it? I don't really mind, you know."

Shay shook her head. "It's not that," she said. "Aren't you going to pray first?"

"_What?"_

Shay looked at me in surprise. "I said, 'aren't you going to pray first?'"

"No I heard you," I said, shaking my head. "I'm just surprised, that's all."

Shay looked even more confused. "At what?"

"That you want to pray. I didn't realise that people still did that."

Lara sighed from nearby. "Here we go..."

"If you don't have God you have no one," Shay said confidently, straightening up. "He's the whole reason why we're alive. The whole reason this earth is in existence! We need to give thanks to Him and put our trust in Him-"

"-I just think He has a lot of explaining to do."

It was out before I could stop myself. I didn't mean to say it, but hearing Shay speak so highly of Him just touched a nerve. I've never been religious purely for the fact that God has never done anything good for me. Isn't He supposed to love everybody? If he existed, why was I born into this horrific world in the poorest district and then sent off to be killed in an arena with twenty-three other _children _for the amusement of the wealthy? In my opinion, God better have a good excuse to why there's so much suffering around me.

I expected Shay to be upset, but she just shook her head, a sad smile on her face. "Poor girl," she said sadly, "you never had the chance to find Him, did you?"

I looked up at her. That was definitely not the answer I was expecting.

"It's alright, Vee," she continued. "Not many people have. Here," she gently took the bread out of my grip, "I'll give thanks for you." She took a deep breath. "Dear Lord, thank you for the food we are about to receive. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen."

Shay passed the bread back to me with a smile. I took it gratefully and began to eat.

"Leave some for us," snapped Lara. "And get a move on. We need to keep moving."

I had no idea where Lara was in such a hurry to get too, but I wasn't going to argue. I was alive, I had food and I had water. That was all that mattered.

**Zachary Swift, District 5 (14)**

I was leaning against a tall tree, holding Evelyn in my arms and watching the sun set over the long, yellow grass. Evelyn was asleep, a side-effect of the morphling I was giving her, but she'd be awake soon and crying out in pain again.

I took the small tube out of my pocket and examined the small amount of clear liquid inside. There was no question that the morphling was running out. They was only about enough for one more dosage and then...well, we'd have to cross that bridge when we got there.

Evelyn was not getting better. In fact, she was getting worse. The wound on her ankle still refused to close for more than a few hours, and when it did re-open, her blood had thinned to the point where it was almost impossible to bandage up the wound again and stop her from bleeding out. I guess the thin blood was the reason to why the wound wouldn't stay closed in the first place.

There was no doubt that the blade that had gone through her leg had been poisoned. The thin blood, the pain and the vivid hallucinations were proof enough. With what though, I had no idea.

I lifted my face towards the sky and whispered, "Please. I know you can hear me. Please, help her!"

I didn't realise that I was shouting until the small birds resting in the tree above my head flew out of the branches in a huff and off towards the setting sun. That was the only reaction I got from my shouts. No matter what I said, no parachute carrying Evelyn's much-needed anti-venom came floating down.

"Zach?"

Evelyn was stirring in my arms again, this time tilting her face up towards mind. I smiled down at her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. How are you feeling?"

Evelyn grimaced. "I've been better," she said, trying to put on a brave face even though I could clearly see her pained expression. "But I think it's starting to heal."

She was lying, anyone could see that, but I went along with it anyway. It was what she needed most at that moment.

"You could be right," I lied, gently stroking her hair. "The morphling is almost finished, so its job should nearly be done now. One more dose and you'll be all better."

More lies, but there really wasn't anything else I could do at that point. Evelyn was dying and we both knew it. I should have over-dosed her with the morphling when she first started showing symptoms, just like Lexi had said. It was too late for that now.

"Can I have some more?"

It took me a while to register what Evelyn was asking for. She wanted the last of the morphling.

"Of course."

I flicked the cork out of the small bottle and eased the last of the liquid into Evelyn's mouth. She swallowed it gratefully and sighed in content. I knew this bliss wouldn't last long. The effects of the morphling would ware off in a few hours and after that, the pain would come back, even worse than before. It broke my heart to see her like that.

"Thank you," Evelyn whispered, taking my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm so glad to have you with me."

I didn't reply. I just squeezed her hand back and continued watching the sun drop lower and lower in the clear sky.

"Zach, do you have a happy place?" she asked suddenly, closing her eyes. "You know, a place where you feel content."

I nodded, even though I knew that she couldn't see me. "Yeah," I replied. "You?"

"The meadow outside our district. I used to go gather food there for my family. I'm imagining myself there right now."

I smiled. "Is it just like how you left it?"

"Even better. My family is there too. I can see them all; Mom, Dad, the little ones. Even Joanna and Wesley are there, which is nice because I hardly get to see them since they moved out. Oh, and you're there too Zach."

My hand snaked out from underneath her warm body and unhooked the small knife from my belt.

"Oh, and what exactly am I doing?"

"You're picking flowers for Estelle. Somehow you know she only likes the red ones."

My grip on the knife was shaking as I pulled it to my side. I knew I had to do it, no matter how much I didn't want to.

"I like the red ones too," I said softly, trying my best to keep the tears from my eyes. "Estelle and I have that in common."

"Konrad and Carter want to race each other," Evelyn said, suppressing a laugh as she gazed at the images only she could see behind her closed eye-lids. "They've asked you to watch to see who the winner is."

"Do I have to count to three before they start?"

"Yeah, otherwise Konrad will cheat. You'd better watch him carefully."

I lifted the silver blade above Evelyn's body. "Would you like to give the count with me?" I asked, the tears now flowing freely from my eyes."

Evelyn smiled. "Yeah. One-"

"-Two-"

"-Three."

I plunged the knife into her chest. Evelyn's eyes fluttered open and she stared up at me, her big brown eyes gazing into mine. Her mouth opened as she tried to speak, but all the air had already left her lungs and no words came out. I couldn't look away and I watched tearfully as the life left her bright eyes, leaving them cold and empty. Then I felt her grip on my hand go slack and her cannon rang out.

"I'm so sorry, Evelyn," I sobbed, my tears staining her peaceful face. "I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve this. You didn't deserve any of this."

I just sat there, holding Evelyn's dead body and rocking her back and fourth against my chest, the tears falling down my face and into her brown hair.

"I'm glad you're not in pain anymore."

I kissed the top of her head and gently pushed the body off my lap. Evelyn rolled slowly onto the sandy ground, appearing to have just moved in her sleep. I crossed her hands over her chest and closed her eyes, planting another kiss on her cheek as I did so. Now she really did look like she was sleeping.

I stood up and, casting one last look at the quiet figure, slipped away into the darkness so the hovercraft could come and collect Evelyn, returning her to her family.

**General POV, Career camp**

The camp was dark; the full moon illuminating the surrounding trees and casting shadows on the four sleeping figures on the ground. The air was quiet, save for the small sounds the dreamers made as they breathed in and out. An owl hooted from nearby, startling a small mouse from its hiding place and causing it to go scuttling into the Cornucopia. Apart from that, it was quiet. Deathly quiet.

The small, blond girl made no noise as she left her position as watchman. As quiet as the mouse that entered the Cornucopia seconds before her, she moved towards the furthest of the sleeping tributes. Looking down at him, Seni looked so angelic in sleep, almost like a child that could do no wrong. But the girl knew better.

As quietly as she could, she drew her knife from its sheath in her belt and held it over the sleeping boy. Without hesitation, she brought it down again, straight into his heart.

The boy felt nothing. He was dead in seconds. His cannon sounded, but by the time his comrades had realised what was going on, the blond girl had already disappeared from the camp and into the night.

She had gotten her revenge.

**Again I'm finding myself apologising for a late update. This really is a hectic time of year for me. I hope these two deaths made up for it. And here's some more news I hope you'll enjoy.**

**I've decided to write a sequel to this story, which means I'm going to need some tributes! I won't be doing the 50th Games since we all know who won that one...I'll be writing the 51st. I've already decided that I'm going to have eight of my own characters for the bloodbath (four boys and four girls) so only sixteen spots are available. District 1 has already been booked and I want both District 12s to be bloodbaths, so other than that you can submit anyone. PM me with the subject line as the tribute you'd like to create (eg: District 5 male) and I'll send you the form if that spot is available. **

**I'm also having a lot of trouble replying to reviews. There's something wrong with the reply link that gets sent to my email, so I haven't been able to send you my comments on your wonderful (and much appreciated) reviews. I love getting replied for the reviews I send out and I'm sure you all do too, which is why I'm apologising for my lack of replies... I will definitely start replying again after the reviews from this chapter.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	26. Chapter 24: District Partners' Deaths

**Wesley Jenkins, District 5 (20)**

_Older brother to Evelyn Jenkins (deceased)_

Being home felt weird, epically since it was the first time in 2 years that I'd stepped foot inside the door. I could tell that Jo wasn't feeling comfortable either, as she kept casting nervous glances around what used to be our living room. Or maybe that was because our little sister was in a bad state. Well, it's not like anyone in the Hunger Games could be in a "good state" anyway.

We sat in silence in my family's cramped lounge, watching Evelyn and her kind district partner, Zach, as they were displayed on the screen. They looked like a young couple sitting together in silence, watching a beautiful sun set, but we all knew that it wasn't the case. Evelyn was dying.

We knew it was inevitable from the day her name was called out at the reaping, but even then I still had a small glimmer of hope that my baby sister could some how make it back home alive. This hope was smashed as soon as she got her foot caught in that trap.

We had all seen the District 4 boy smear venom from that monstrous snake onto the crossbow's blade that went through Evelyn's foot. It was over from the moment we noticed her blood starting to thin; a sure sign that the snake's venom was slowly making its way through her system. Aristos Charis' constant commentary of the situation wasn't definitely wasn't helping.

Joanna and I decided to visit our family during what we thought to be a difficult time, even though this meant taking unpaid time off the work that we so desperately needed. Our family has ten children, so you can guess that the money would be pretty tight.

I felt a squeeze on my leg and I looked down to see my girlfriend's hand resting on my knee. She smiled up at me and I instantly felt better. Mabel Hues was a girl that I could never have dreamed that I'd end up with one day. She was a year ahead of me at school and was probably one of the most popular people I'd ever known. Everyone knew Mabel Hues. Her sister, Artimis, was her complete opposite. I'd always thought that the Hues family had two children, Mabel and her wrestling-star brother Declan, but it turns out that there was a third child. I'd asked Evelyn to point her out to me one afternoon when I came to fetch her from school and if it wasn't for her, I'd never have noticed the quiet red-head sitting alone in the corner with a pallet of paint. Turns out they were in the same class.

"He's giving her the last of the morphling," Joanna said quietly, looking away from the screen. "I don't even want to think about what's going to happen when it wares off."

I didn't want to think about it either, but images of Evelyn withering in pain and screaming at people that weren't there invaded my mind anyway.

"I'm going to check on the little ones," said my mother, swiftly getting out of her seat and leaving the room. We all knew that the younger children were perfectly fine where they were, but we understood that she needed an excuse to leave the room.

"I'm glad the kids aren't here to see this," whispered Joanna, looking sideways at me. "Rather have them remember Evelyn had the happy, healthy girl she was. Not like this."

I turned back to the screen where Evelyn and Zach were now talking. The camera zoomed in to give the audience a change to hear the words that were exchanged. Turns out that she was talking about us.

"_...I can see them all; Mom, Dad, the little ones. Even Joanna and Wesley are there, which is nice because I hardly get to see them since they moved out."_

I looked over at Joanna to see that she was looking just as guilty as I felt. We really should have made more of an effort to visit our family since we moved out. Neither of us had realised how much Evelyn missed us and now we would never have the chance to make it right.

Now she was talking about our younger sister, Estelle, and how she only ever liked the red flowers. That was true. Once I'd taken her out for a walk, way before the three youngest were born, and picked her every wildflower I could find until I held a huge bunch. When I'd presented it to her, took it gladly, but picked out every flower that wasn't red and left a trail of multi-coloured flowers behind us as we walked home. I smiled at the memory. It seemed so long ago now.

"_...Do I have to count to three before they start?"_

"_Yes, otherwise Konrad will cheat. You'd better watch him carefully."_

I suppressed a laugh. This was true too. Konrad was much too competitive for his own good; a lesson I had learned the hard way when he filled my walking boots up with mud because I beat him in a running face. I'd almost forgotten this event.

I frowned slightly. Had I really been gone for so long that I'd started to forget just what made me love my family so much? Was Jo feeling the same way? Why had I waited so long before going back home? I was so lost in thought that I almost didn't notice Zach pulling out his knife. Mabel gasped besides me, but I remained quiet. Zach was doing the most noble and humane thing he could.

"_...One-"_

"_-Two-"_

"_-Three."_

We watched in silence has Zach's blade entered Evelyn's chest. Her eyes opened and she stared up at Zach, but I could have sworn that I saw a hint of a smile cross her face before her eyes closed for the last time. She was where she wanted to be. Home.

**Serenity "Ren" Gold, District 1 (14)**

_Younger sister to Seni Gold (deceased)_

"This is so boring," I muttered to Bijou as I tapped my pencil on the edge of the desk in front of me. "Seriously, they're just sleeping. Can't we go home now?"

Bijou grinned slightly as she stifled a yawn, closing her blue eyes for a few seconds before training them back onto the large screen before us. "I know right," she agreed, casting a quick glance around the room to make sure that no one had noticed them talking. "Not even your hot brother can make this stupid night class any more interesting."

I gave her a playful push. "Hey, quite calling my brother hot. It's weird."

Bijou shrugged. "Well it's true. You should have heard how Glitter and Ivory were going on about him the other day."

"I don't think I really want to-"

"-Ren, shut it!"

Our attention snapped to the front where my older sister, Gulianna, had turned around in her seat to glare at us.

"Honestly, don't you two realise that when you whisper in a quiet room, _everyone can hear you? _Quit talking about Seni and take notes. You're lucky you're even in this class."

I pulled a face at her and started doodling on my note pad again. I knew that we were supposed to be taking notes on what we learned while watching the careers "in action", but drawing Gulianna getting eaten by the lizard-beats that ate that District 10 boy a few days ago was far more entertaining. Bijou, clearly curious to see what I was doing, eyed my work suspiciously and burst into a helpless fit of giggles as she realised what my drawing was.

"Ren!" Gulianna was glaring at me again.

"What?" I demanded, crossing my arms. "That was Bijou, not me!"

Gulianna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but you no doubt provoked it. Just shut up and watch. I would make you go home, but you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"We'd all like that..."

Gulianna gave me one last glare and turned back to the TV. I gave Bijou a shrug and went back to drawing my picture. Just as I was adding flames to my cartoon-Gulianna's hair, the real Gulianna turned around again and said, "Seriously Ren, can't you keep quiet?"

"What they hell? That wasn't even me!"

"Don't lie," she snapped, glaring again. "Who else would be stupid enough to-?"

"-Uh, that would be me Gulianna."

The entire class turned to face the petite 15-year-old sitting two rows from the back. Even though the room was dark and I couldn't see her chestnut brown hair and electric blue eyes, there was no doubt about whom that voice belonged to.

"Oh, I'm sorry Chiffon," stammered Gulianna, sitting back down in her seat. "I thought it was Ren."

"No worries," was Chiffon's cheerful reply. "I shouldn't have been talking anyway. I just needed a pencil sharpener."

"Wait a second!" I said sharply, staring daggers at my sister. "Why is it okay that _she _gets to talk while you bitch at me every time I open my mouth?"

"Because you're my sister, dumbass. Plus you're not actually supposed to be in this class. You're lucky that you were invited here so show the rest of us some respect."

"Nah uh," I said, shaking my head. "I bet the only reason you're being nice to Chiffon Silver is because you're scared of her brother."

Damask Silver was two years older than me and had already been picked as the volunteer tribute for the 51st Hunger Games. He would have been picked for the quell next year, but Lex Lesuri beat him to it. To say Damask was cold would be a bit of an understatement. That boy was like a freaking snow storm! Not to mention insane too...I honestly thought that he had some deep, psychological problems. And then there were those rumours regarding his mother's disappearance a few years ago...Yeah, it was best to stay away from Damask Silver. Annoying Chiffon definitely wasn't a good start. Chiffon doesn't exactly like her brother, but it's no secret that he's fiercely over protective towards her. Seriously, he would hunt down and kill anyone who would ever harm her. No joke.

Chiffon just sighed. "I don't blame her. Even I'm a little afraid of Damask sometimes."

"I'm not scared of him."

"You should be," was Chiffon's serious reply. "Trust me; he's someone to be wary of." She sighed again. "Oh well, I think we should all get back to watching now."

Gulianna gave a curt nod and, glaring at me for one final time, turned back to the TV screen. I flipped her off behind her back and went back to my drawing.

It must have been at least ten minutes before I felt Bijou elbowing me in the ribs.

"What?" I hissed, annoyed that she'd made me draw a thick line down the middle of my cartoon.

"Maddie's awake."

"So? No one here actually likes her."

That must was true. The students at the Career Academy detested little Maddie for volunteering before the chosen student, Octavia Le Ileum, had a chance to put up her hand. If she was actually a student here, she'd better wish she will be killed in the games because the punishment for volunteering when you're not supposed to is very severe. I guess the Academy wouldn't be too harsh on her because she's not actually from here, but the students would probably hate her until the day she died. Especially Octavia.

"Look, she's going towards your brother."

Now the whole class was sitting up in their seats and watching the screen intently. Even I couldn't pretend not to be interested. Just what were our District 1 tributes doing?

Then Maddie drew her knife.

"No!" cried Gulianna. "Seni! Wake up!"

Usually I'd have made fun of her for shouting at a TV screen, but I didn't even think about it in this situation. If I wasn't rooted to my seat in fear, I'd have been standing up too and shouting for all I was worth.

No one dared to breathe as they watched the small 12-year-old make her way over to where Seni was sleeping. You could almost see the tension in the air. The small give knelt down besides my sleeping brother and lifted the knife over his chest. Then, as Gulianna choked back sobs, she plunged it into his chest.

The cannon boomed.

No one in the room spoke. We were all still in shock. This was probably the first time that someone had turned on their district partner so early in the Games; well unless you counted the District 5 boy stabbing his partner out of pity earlier in the evening. We all expected her to stab on of the other Careers next, but the little girl ignored them and scampered off into the darkness.

I didn't realise that I was shaking until I stood up and started to speak.

"That little bitch is dead," I said, spitting out my words with anger. "If she ever comes back to District 1, I'll make sure to do the job myself."

**Just so you know, I'm taking pride in how quick this update was! School is calming down so expect more soon. **

**Thanks for all your wonderful tribute submissions. I've been getting tributes from people that I didn't even know were reading. Well maybe that's because they **_**never review**_. **Haha well it was nice knowing that you guys are reading. I feel special (but I'd feel more special if you reviewed). Anyways, I still need a few more tributes; namely 2 females (from either 3, 6, 8, 10 11) and 4 males (from either 2 [please guys, I don't want to have to kill a Career in the bloodbath], 4 [again, I'd like Careers], 5, 7, 9, 10 or 11. Just PM me and I'll send you the form.**

**One part of this chapter I really enjoyed was introducing some of the new tributes. I won't tell you exactly who they are, but I'm sure you can guess. If I do more chapters like these, I'll be sure to have the new submissions in too.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	27. Chapter 25: Attack

**AN: Earlier in the story, Lara from District 11 mentioned to Shay that she reminds her of a girl she used to know named Liza. Just a reminder for those of you who might have forgotten because of the awfully long spaces between my updates. Oh and the italics is Lara dreaming.**

**Lara Anders, District 11 (17)**

"_Ouch! Liza you're hurting me."_

_I felt the sharp tap of the brush against my skull as the older girl dropped the locks of dark hair she was holding._

"_Well it wouldn't if you stopped wriggling about. Just keep still, Lara."_

"_You're just really bad at doing hair," I replied sulkily, crossing my arms. "I can do a better job of it myself."_

_Liza laughed. "Keep telling yourself that."_

"_Yeah, I will!"_

_We were sitting on the front steps of the small house, Liza on the top step and me on the third, while she brushed the coarse tangles that was my hair. On a normal day, we would have just let my hair be, but today wasn't just any ordinary day. It was the reaping day. Liza's first reaping day._

"_Why do I have to dress up for your reaping?" I demanded. "It's not like I'm getting reaped. I still have three years to go."_

"_Don't you want to look pretty for your big sister's first reaping?" replied Liza, an expression of fake hurt in her voice. _

"_No." I pouted and crossed my arms again. "I think we should all stay home today."_

_This time Liza laughed. "Don't worry, Lara. It's my first reaping. I'm not going anywhere."_

_She was wrong._

"_Liza Anders!"_

_No. It couldn't be her. It was only her first time! I must have heard it wrong. Not Liza. Please, not Liza._

_But it was Liza and not matter how much I screamed, nothing stopped my big sister from walking onto that stage. She was trying to be brave, probably for my benefit, but I could see right through her defiant look. Her legs were shaking._

_Liza looked beautiful on the evening of her chariot ride through the Capitol's main street. She was wearing a simple brown dress, her hair adorned with small purple berries and her slender arms decorated with whirls of gold. She looked like something out of a fairytale._

_They dressed Liza in gold for her interview, letting her shiny brown hair fall loose down her back. She smiled and acted friendly, but I knew she was afraid. I was afraid for her too. _

_All too soon Liza was standing on her small, metal platform, surrounded on all side by fine, white sand. The desert setting of the 41st Hunger Games was harsh and unforgiving, and the only place for water was at a tiny oasis at the edge of the arena. The Games looked like they would be over quickly._

_The gong had gone off, and Liza was sprinting with all her might towards a small backpack lying half covered in sand. She knew she needed the life-giving water in it because, without it, she wouldn't survive long. She had just reached the pack when the District 2 girl caught sight of her. She threw her knife and it was over before Liza could scream. The knife buried itself into Liza's chest and she collapsed to the ground, the blood flowing freely from the wound..._

"Lara! Lara, wake up!"

I woke with a start and rolled onto my back to face the person who was shaking me so violently. It was Vee and she was kneeling besides me with a very concerned look on her face.

"What?" I snapped, annoyed to be woken up. "I'm trying to sleep."

"You were having a nightmare," she replied quietly, her concerned look not going away. "You were screaming."

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "No I wasn't. Leave me alone."

"Geez, I was only trying to help," muttered Vee, crossing her arms and looking very put out. "But fine, be alone for all I care."

She got up and stomped off, sitting down a few meters away besides Shay's sleeping form. I just sat there, staring after until I finally had the sense to look away. I knew I'd been having a nightmare, but even so, that didn't mean that I wanted to talk about it. My private life was my private life, and no one else needed to be involved in it. Especially not the whole of Panem. I'm not sure why I said what I said next.

"She reminds me of her, that's all."

Vee looked up, surprised. "Of Liza?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah," I replied, looking away and out towards the horizon. "That's why I couldn't leave her in the bloodbath. She'd be dead if it wasn't for me."

"You were close to her, weren't you?"

I looked back at Vee to see that she was smiling sadly at me. "She was my older sister. She went into the Games when she was twelve."

"I'm sorry."

I smiled sadly. "Yeah, me too."

We sat in silence after that. I guess that what when I decided that I actually liked Vee. I'd thought she was a nuisance ever since Shay asked me to rescue her from that fire, but now I found that it was quite nice to have her around. We could have even been friends if it weren't in the Hunger Games.

But we were in the Hunger Games, so friendship was not an option. Sooner or later, Vee was going to die and I wasn't going to stop that from happening. I'd already saved her once. The rest was up to her.

Suddenly, Shay yawned and sat up.

"You guys are up early," she said, stretching. "Have you made any breakfast."

I smiled at the small girl. "We only just woke up now. Give us time."

"You should cook us something," Vee said, pulling a face at Shay. "We're always the ones cooking for you."

Shay stood up. "What?" she laughed. "You've only been with us for three days and you've never cooked once!"

Vee shrugged. "I suck at cooking."

"Okay fine," sighed Shay, stretching again. "I'll make some breakfast just now. I just need to go to the toilet."

I smiled to myself. It was funny how Shay was still so politically correct in the middle of the arena where there was obviously no "toilet" to go to. It was even funnier how she cringed every time I announced that I needed to "go", as Shay called it. I definitely wasn't as politically correct as she was. In fact, you could say that I-

"Lara! Help!"

I jumped at the sound of Shay's screams. I was on my feet in a few seconds flat and sprinting off in the direction of Shay's cries, Vee following closely behind. Oh God, what if a mutt had got her? Or another tribute? Or a _Career_? I sped up, trying my best not to think about all the horrible scenarios playing out in my head.

We found Shay behind a clump of bushes, curled up in a ball on the ground, shaking.

"What is it?" I shouted frantically as we reached her. "Shay, are you okay?"

"I think I'm dying, Lara," she sobbed, crawling over to me. "I think I've been poisoned."

I knelt down besides her and put my arm around her shoulders.

"Tell me where it hurts," I said soothingly, trying not to panic even though I was freaking out inside. I would be devastated if anything happened to Shay, especially something as trivial as poison.

"It doesn't hurt," sniffed Shay, her tiny fingers clinging to my jacket. "I just went to the toilet and when I wiped, there was _blood_. I'm bleeding out from the inside!" She started to cry again, obviously terrified.

Wait a minute...I looked at Vee, who raised her eyebrows at me. Then we both burst into a fit of helpless laughter. Vee even collapsed on the floor, holding her stomach.

"What's so funny?" cried Shay, fresh tears pouring from her eyes. "Why are you laughing at me? I'm dying!"

"You're not dying Shay," I laughed as relief flooded through me. "Not even close."

"But I'm bleeding."

Vee giggled and knelt down besides the distraught girl. Cupping her hands to her ear, she lent in close and whispered something.

Shay jerked back violently. "That's _discussing_!" she exclaimed, looking at us in horror. "Ew ew ew gross!"

I shrugged. "Happens to all of us girls."

"It's hilarious that you didn't know," laughed Vee. "Your parents really should have told you sooner."

Shay looked annoyed so I changed the subject. "Let's get back to camp," I said cheerfully, putting a hand on Shay's shoulder. "Someone promised that they'd make breakfast."

**Lexus "Lexi" Anette Derl, District 6 (15)**

"Did you guys also hear the cannons last night?" Lee asked as he, Vitz and I walked through the tall grass. We'd packed up our camp that morning, feeling strange in it without Evelyn and Zach around, and decided that we'd be better off in a new place. Maybe they'd even be water where we were going.

Vitz nodded. "Yeah, they were kinda hard to miss. I guess Evelyn finally found her peace."

"I wonder who the second cannon was for?" I said, frowning. "I guess it's too much to ask for a Career to die so early in the Games, right?"

"Wouldn't it be great if two Careers got into a fight and took each other out?" chuckled Vitz. "It would certainly make our lives a whole lot easier."

"Speaking of killing Careers, Lex," said Lee, turning his head towards me. "Didn't you have a plan to attack them when they least expected it?"

"Evelyn complicated matters," I muttered. "We need to re-strategise since there's now only three of us and six of them."

"Maybe only four," added Vitz jokingly. "Two Careers could have died last night if they got into that fight I mentioned earlier."

I gave him a playful push. "Like that really happened. The one was definitely Evelyn. The other was probably some poor sod who died of thirst. Or maybe got hunter by the Careers."

"Maybe it was Zach," suggested Lee, only half seriously. "He was pretty taken by little Evelyn. Maybe he decided that he couldn't live without her."

"Don't say things like that," I said quietly, shocked. "I feel bad enough already that I'm responsible for Evelyn's death. I don't want Zach's blood on my hands now too."

Both Lee and Vitz looked at me in surprise.

"How is it your fault?" Vitz asked.

"Because it was my idea to go attack the Careers that afternoon. If it weren't for me Evelyn wouldn't have been caught in that trap."

"Hey, it's not your fault," said Lee soothingly. "Odds are, Evelyn was going to die anyway. Rather now than tortured to death by crazy-Sierra later."

"She died a painful death, Lee. Stop trying to make me feel better."

Lee sighed. "At least she was with Zach. She'd have wanted her last moments with him anyway."

We walked in silence after that. The only sounds were our feet crunching the dry glass underneath us and the soft whistle of the birds in the thorn trees around us. It was nice, peaceful even, to walk through the African bush like that. I knew none of it was real, and that I was actually being displayed on a thousand TV screens around the country, but for that moment I felt like it was just me. I felt free.

And then I came crashing back to reality.

"Did you hear that?" Lee asked suddenly, stopping dead in his tracks.

We followed suit.

"No?" replied Vitz, a confused look upon his face. "I don't hear-oh."

Now I could head it too; the soft thunder of what sounded like a giant wave rushing towards us. I looked around frantically, but all I could see was the long, yellow grass surrounding us on all sides. The boys looked equally confused, until a large rat burst out of the undergrowth in front of us. And then another and another and another.

"Run!" cried Vitz, dropping his bag in surprise and bolting off in the opposite direction to the rats. "Mutts!"

Lee scooped up Vitz's fallen bag and followed, his long legs catching up to him easily. And then I was running too, crashing through the undergrowth in a desperate attempt to get away from the rats that were clearly chasing us. I sneaked a glance behind me and immediately wished that I didn't.

The rats had multiplied since the last time I'd seen them. Hundred upon hundred of large, snarling rats were moving towards us, like a rushing torrent of grey water. These were definitely no ordinary rats. Apart from the snarling, they had deep, blood-red eyes and their needle-like teeth looked razor sharp as they snapped in our direction. They wanted blood.

"Where the hell did those things come from?" shouted Lee, looking behind us in terror.

"I don't know, but I don't really care either," Vitz shouted in reply. "Just keep running!"

"I wasn't going to stop, moron!"

"Stop arguing!" I shouted, trying with all my might to speed up. "Save your breath for running!"

"Quit bossing us-aaah!"

Vitz was cut off in mid-sentence as he tripped and he fell, arms failing, towards the ground. He slammed into it hard, but Lee and I kept running. We figured that he'd get right back up and continue running.

Then we heard his screaming.

I skidded to a halt and turned around to stare at the horrific scene unfolding before my eyes.

Vitz was lying on the ground, screaming with pain as the swarm ran over him, biting and scratching him with their razor-sharp teeth and claws. He was bleeding badly already and the rats showed no signs of stopping. Snarling, they dug their teeth into Vitz's flesh tearing away every chunk they could get. They were going to devour him completely if we didn't do something soon.

"We have to help him!" I shouted to Lee as he watched the rats in horror.

"I'm not going in there!" Lee replied adamantly, almost screaming over the noise of the snarling rats. "It's over for him Lex."

"He's still alive! I am _not _going to be responsible for another one of my friend's deaths!"

I dropped my bag, along with my bow since it wouldn't really be helping much in this situation, and plucked a knife from my belt. Lee sighed and drew his sword and, together, we ran back to where Vitz was screaming for help.

I stabbed at the first rat I reached, kicking a few more out of my way as I fought towards Vitz.

"Get up, moron!" I shouted at him, impaling another rat in the gut as I did so. "They're going to eat you if you don't move."

Vitz was in fact trying to get up, but there were too many rats on top of him to do anything. They were too heavy, and more and more were joining them every second. I unhooked another knife and tossed it to Vitz, who grabbed it gratefully. We began slashing away at the rats again.

But it was no use. For every rat we killed, too more just took its place. They were everywhere; a giant mass of snarling mass of grey bodies and there were way too many of them for us to handle. They were biting me too now, and I cried out in pain as I felt the first of their needle-like teeth penetrate my skin. I tried to slap them off me, but more and more just leapt right on, knawing away at my body like it was a piece of dead meat. If they kept this up, it would be in a few minutes.

I was starting to think going back for Vitz was a bad idea.

Then all of a sudden, the rats jumped off me. Fighting back tears, I stabbed a nearby rat through the head as I looked up to see why they'd stopped biting. I feared something worse.

Instead I saw Lee, brandishing a burning branch and waving it around at the rats, who were clearly afraid of fire. A wave of relief washed over me as I sat up, stabbing left, right and centre with my knife. Just when I'd given up, Lee had given me knew hope. He had obviously give some to Vitz too because he was also sitting up, jabbing away with his knife. How Lee knew that the rats would be afraid of fire was beyond me, just it sure was working. They were starting to disappear into the grass again.

Before I knew it, they were gone again.

I dropped my knife, panting hard. With all the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I couldn't feel the pain of any of my wounds. That would come later.

Vitz had it was worse than me. His arms and legs were full of deep gashes and his spiky orange hair was mattered with blood. The grass around him was also red, and growing increasingly redder as Vitz continued to bleed. He wasn't even sitting up, but was instead lying back in the grass while Lee attempted to bandage the worst of his multiple wounds. I crawled over to offer my help.

Vitz lost consciousness as we cleaned him up, but no cannon fired so she knew he was still alive. He was a strong boy and I had no doubt that he would pull through. Even if he didn't, at least this time I tried to help my friend in need instead of just leaving them to die like I did with Evelyn. Lee always assured my that Evelyn's death wasn't my fault, but deep down, I'd always known that it was. It would be a guilt I'd have to carry until the day I died.

**Lance Wolff, District 4 (17)**

I was surprised to find that I actually liked my new alliance with Capri. She was quite cold at first, strange considering that I'd saved her life twice now, but she warmed up well enough after about a day. Now she was almost pleasant to talk to.

I still didn't know why I had saved her. I'd killed the District 11 boy in the bloodbath with no trouble at all. It was just Capri that I couldn't kill. Twice. Was it because she was a girl? No, that couldn't be it because I fantasised about killing Sierra too many times to rule out that possibility. Maybe it was because she was a _pretty _girl. But then again, Naomi is pretty too and I'd have no trouble killing her if that time ever came. It was just Capri.

"Lance?"

Capri's voice snapped me from my thoughts and I tilted my face up towards her.

"Yes, Linda?"

Capri scowled at my use of the name I first used for her on the night of the fire. She wouldn't tell me her name then, so I had to make one up. It annoyed her greatly.

"Forget it," she said, eyes narrowed. "I _was _going to offer you some fruit, but not anymore. You can get your own damn fruit."

I sighed. "And there I was thinking that you'd warmed up to me."

"I don't think anyone could ever warm up to you."

"Well technically you did _warm _up to me..."

Capri rolled her eyes. "If you're referring to that one time I shared a sleeping bag with you," she snapped, "it was because I would have died with cold without doing so. Stop thinking that you're so clever."

I shrugged. "I generally am clever."

"Yeah? So stop calling me 'Linda' and remember my damn name!"

I had a great comeback for that ready, but I didn't get to use it because, at that moment, a small, white parachute came floating down from the clear sky. Capri ignored it, probably still annoyed with me, so I got up from my spot on the ground to retrieve it. The parachute might have been small, but the item attached to it sure wasn't.

"Wow cool!" I exclaimed, tearing away the packaging of the new spear. "Check out this thing!"

Capri ignored me, though I excepted nothing less.

"And look! We have some water too! That's awesome because now we don't have to sneak by the Career's camp to get some from the river."

"Do you even hear yourself talking?" Capri snapped suddenly, her blue eyes blazing as she glared at me. "Listen to yourself! Talking about the 'Career's camp'! This sponsor parachute is actually a reminder that you're still one of them."

I was taken aback. This out burst was definitely not what I'd been expecting. Was this why Capri was so reluctant to talk to me? Did she still consider me as a Career, and therefore an enemy?

"I'm not one of them," I said quietly, looking away. "I made that clear when I left them to save _your _life."

"Yeah, well looks like the little "not-a-Career" boy is still getting lovely gifts from sponsors. Is there a note with it too? I bet it has instruction about how to kill me with that spear!"

That comment hurt me, but it also made me angry. Who gave her the right to judge me like that?

"Not a good idea to make the "little Career boy" angry! Who knows what I could do to you?" I was on my feet now, shouting for all I was worth. "Maybe I could stick my new Career-spear into your stomach! Hey? Or maybe even your head! What about your eyes?"

I expected Capri to afraid, I was screaming at her while waving a spear around, but she just burst into laughter.

"Career-spear," she giggled. "That rhymes."

I paused. "That's not the point here."

Capri laughed again. "But your spear is! Get it? It's pointy!"

I just stared at her. "That's not even funny," I said, rolling my eyes. "Really, that's the best you could come up with?"

"I know it's not funny...It's punny!"

"Oh shut up, Capri."

"Ha!" she shouted so suddenly that I jumped, nearly dropping the spear. "You said my name!"

"Yeah, so?" I sighed, sitting down again and folding my legs underneath me. "That's not the weirdest thing to happen today by far. You completely blew up over nothing. How do you know that the parachute isn't meant for you?"

"Dude, it's a spear. Aren't you District 4's supposed to be awesome with them?"

"Not me. I've never been trained to use one."

Capri looked at me, eyebrows raised. "I'd have thought that a Career district would have trained their representative better."

I just sighed and shook my head. "I wasn't meant to be their representative," I said, staring at the ground. "That 'honour' was reserved for a boy a year ahead of me, Caspian. He's from the Career Academy and was supposed to volunteer. I don't know why he didn't."

"Oh." That was Capri's only answer. I think she felt a bit guilty about accusing me of being something that I was not. I knew she would never admit it, but I could see that she felt bad.

"Yeah, that doesn't usually happen since we're quite big on Volunteering," I continued with a sigh. "The girl chosen to volunteer didn't either. That's how Naomi ended up here."

"I'm so glad she's not my district partner," Capri muttered, a sly smile on her face. "Seriously, her IQ probably starts with a decimal point."

I chuckled. "What if I told you that she was faking it the entire time?"

"No way!" Capri gasped, sounding like a girl who had just received a juicy piece of gossip. "Do tell."

"Okay, well remember Braxton Cross."

Capri shook her head. "Not at all. I didn't take much note of the other tributes."

"He was the lanky boy from District 10."

"Oh yeah! I remember him! He had that little 12-year-old as a district partner. Isn't he dead?"

"Yeah," I replied, trying not to picture Brax's death scene in my mind. "Naomi killed him. She knew he had a massive crush on her, so she took a parachute from a sponsor and threw it in the river with the crocodiles in and made him go fetch it for her. He was eaten alive."

"What's a crocodile?" Capri asked, completely missing the point of my story.

"Oh, those giant water-lizard things," I said dismissively. "Anyway, she and Sierra are tight now and they're annoying as hell together. I was quite glad to get away."

"I can imagine," she muttered. "That Career alliance is like a dysfunctional family."

"They're pretty messed up," I laughed, taking a sip of the water we'd just received before passing the bottle to Capri. "I feel sorry for the poor souls they killed last night. Couldn't have been pretty."

"Maybe one of them died," Capri said, taking the water. "Anything could have happened."

"How great would it be if it was Naomi?"

As Capri and I sat there taking guesses about who had died, I realised that this was actually the first proper conversation that we'd ever had. It was nice sitting there with her, and it almost felt normal considering that we were in the middle of the Hunger Games. I was glad that I'd saved her life.

**Madeleine "Maddie" Michel, District 1 (12)**

I was moving quickly when I heard the Capitol's anthem break through the silence of the arena. I stopped running immediately and looked up into the sky, where I knew that Seni's face was about to be projected for all the tributes to see. I wonder what they would think about his death, since he was a Career and all. He'd probably be the last person they'd expect to have died.

I couldn't help smiling when I saw Seni's once intimidating face glare down at me from the night sky. The other tributes must all be wondering how he died. A mutt perhaps? Or maybe a cleverly designed trap? I'd be they'd never have thought it was me. The people watching must still be getting over it as they watched the recap back home.

I wonder how my district is reacting to this. My father no doubt knows my motives, but the rest of them must be just as confused as the tributes in this arena. I probably would never be forgiven for this, even if I did actually end up winning the Games. Seni's many sisters would kill me in my sleep.

Seni's face shimmered in the sky and was then replaced by the innocent face of the girl from District 5. Poor thing, I wonder what got her? It wasn't a Career since we were all in the camp when we heard her cannon go off. I might have been a Career, but I still felt a little saddened at the girl's death. She couldn't have been much older than me. Much too young to die.

I looked away from the picture of the dead girl and started to run again. Seni's death had occurred a full day ago, which meant that the other Careers would be fast on my tail. There were only three of them left now, Sierra, Nic and Naomi, but I wouldn't have to get into a fight with any of them and especially not all three!

I jumped as I heard a rustling in the long grass nearby. Instinctively, I spun around and strung my bow, pointing it in the direction of the noise. It could have been an animal, the arena was full of them, but it could have been a tribute too. And I was right. A boy was making his way out of the grass, his hands in the air.

"Please, kill me."

He must have been the boy from District 5, Zachary I think he was called. He was in a bad way; covered in dirt with clear tear-tracks down his grimy face. His hair was mattered and falling in his eyes, but I could still see the fresh tears falling. I didn't want to kill him, but I didn't lower my bow either.

"Why?" I asked, staring at him over the tip of my arrow. "I don't particularly want to."

"Please," he begged again, taking a step forward. "I can't live with knowing that I killed her. I'd rather be dead."

Ah, so that's what happened. I assumed that by 'her' he meant his district partner. He must have been the one that ended her life and caused her face to be displayed in the sky tonight. I'd killed my district partner too, but we were both clearly dealing with it in different ways.

"Wait, Zach," I said soothingly, lowering my bow slightly. "You don't want to die now. Trust me; things are going to get better."

"How?" he sobbed, throwing up his hands. "This is probably the worst possible thing anyone could ever have to face. I'm stuck in this death trap, hunted ever second, and I had to kill someone I really cared about in cold blood. How could this possible get better?"

I had no answer to that. He was right. We were stuck in the worst possible thing anyone could ever face.

"I have food," I offered half-heartedly. "You must be starving."

Zach eyed me suspiciously. "Why are you offering me food? I don't deserve it."

I sighed. "You're alive. That's why you deserve it."

"I don't deserve to be alive," Zach replied, shaking his head as fresh tears entered his eyes. "I murdered Evelyn."

He began to cry again. From the sounds of it, Evelyn's death couldn't be helped. Maybe it was a mercy killing, Zach trying to put her out of her misery? I guess it could have been an accident too, but that wasn't very likely. Zach clearly cared about this girl, so he was probably quite careful around her.

"My mother died when I was six," I said quietly, "and when she died, my father gave me a great piece of advice. He said, 'Remember Mads, you don't die with the dead. Your mother might be gone, but you're still very much alive. She'd want you to keep on living.' I guess that's the same with Evelyn. She'd want you to be alive, to try and get out of here. Don't you want to do that for her?"

Zach looked away. "That's something she would want," he admitted sadly. "Evelyn was very kind. She wouldn't want me to die for her."

"So how about that food then," I said with a smile, holding out my pack.

Zach smiled sadly and reached out his hand. Suddenly, his smiling expression vanished and was replaced by one of surprise. His eyes drifted downwards and so did mine; towards the sharp tip of an arrow protruding through his chest. He tried to speak, but blood dripped from his mouth as soon as he opened it. Gurgling slightly, he touched the arrow-head, before crumpling forwards and falling to the ground. My blood ran cold.

His cannon boomed.

"Hello, Maddie," said the sugary-sweet voice of Sierra as she stepped out of the darkness, Nic and Naomi in tow. "Miss us?"

I shrugged, trying to appear calm while I tried to slow my racing heart. "Not much, since I saw you guys yesterday."

"Well we missed you," said Naomi, her voice mirroring Sierra's as she took a step forward. "We were quite surprised to wake up in the middle of the night to find Seni dead and you gone. We were worried."

Her chilling voice and smiling expression didn't seem worried at all, but I played along anyway. I needed to buy myself some time while I looked for an escape. There was no doubt that they were here to kill me.

"Don't even think about running away, Mads," laughed Sierra, watching me with interest as my eyes darted around frantically. "We'd shoot you before you've even gone ten steps."

"Relax Maddie," said Nic, his voice expressionless. "We just want to talk."

I doubted it, but I didn't really have any other option but to listen.

"When Braxton foolishly joined our alliance," Sierra started as Naomi giggled, "he told us about an anti-Career alliance that was planning to take us out. Do you remember?"

I did remember Brax's story. Lexi, the girl from District 6, her district partner and the good-looking boy from Eight were in an alliance with the sole purpose of taking out the Career pack. Zach and Evelyn were in it too, but they were dead now.

"There are only three of them left," Sierra continued, "but they must not be underestimated. They all got unusually high training scored for outer districts and have had plenty of time to formulate a plan. Even though I have no doubt that Nic, Naomi and I could take them, there's safety in numbers. Which is why we want you to come back to camp with us."

Wow. That was the last thing that I was expecting. I thought they were there to kill me! Instead, they were asking me to join them again.

"What about Seni?" I blurted out, still shocked that they wanted me back. "You all know that I was the one who killed him."

"Oh, Seni was just annoying," said Naomi, waving her hand dismissively. "He was never going to win the Games anyway, so you just took him out before the rest of us got the chance. You actually did us a favour."

"So?" said Sierra, a hint of a challenge in her voice. "Are you coming back with us?"

That was a question that I didn't have the answer to. It was a lot safer to be with the Careers than on my own, but did I really want to be in with them again? After thinking about it for a few seconds, I came to an answer.

"No," I said clearly, so loudly that I surprised myself. "We're done. I have no more to gain from being allies with you."

Nic and Naomi looked shocked, but Sierra just glared.

"Well then," she said slowly, lifting up her bow. "Since you're not with us, looks like you're against us then."

"Wait," I said, lifting up my hands as I realise that she was about to kill me. "Let's not leave on bad terms."

Now Sierra looked surprised. "What do you mean?" she snapped, glaring at me again.

"We had some pretty good times, Sierra," I said pleasantly, reaching into my pack as Sierra watched me with suspicion. "I could almost consider you as friends." My hands closed over a pack of spare spearheads that were being kept for safe-keeping in the backpack I took from the camp. "Here," I continued with a smile as I tossed them at Sierra's feet. "Consider this a parting gift."

And then I ran. I'd always been fast, so the others must still have been staring in surprise at me 'gift' while I bolted off, getting further and further away with every second. I heard Naomi ask if she should go after me, but Sierra stopped her; saying that they would get me another day. She was probably right since I wouldn't be able to survive a full fledged attack by the three of them, but at least I had escaped for now.

I know my father said that we never died with the dead, but a small part of me felt like it had. As I thought of Zach's dead body, lying bloodied and crumpled in the long grass, I realised that, even though I hardly knew the boy, a little piece of my soul had died along with him.

**I felt really bad for the late update, so I decided to kill off another character to make the wait a little more worth while. Yes, I know it's mean, but I'm wanting to speed things up here…which is ironic since I was late updating again…**

**ANYWAY, I'm going away in three days so I'll be totally unreachable until I get back a week later. For those of you that are interested (because I would be if someone mentioned that they were going away), I'm going on a hike through one of the many game reserves in South Africa (where I live). So basically I'm going to a place pretty much like the arena I created for this story. I'm beyond excited!**

**Oh yeah, and it would really mean a lot to me if you reviewed. I know I have more readers than I have reviewers, so for those of you who haven't sent one in yet, please do It really doesn't take long. It doesn't even have to be detailed. I just want to know who's out there.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading!**


	28. Chapter 26: Out of Luck

**Sierra Golding, District 2 (16)**

The atmosphere around the camp had changed now that we had lost three members of our alliance. I don't think anyone expected the Career pack to halve this early in the Games and, even though I knew there really wasn't anything to worry about, I felt a little bit uneasy having just Nic and Naomi around. One could even call it "insecure" if I wasn't so highly trained.

I could tell that Nic wasn't feeling comfortable either. We might not get along very well, but I knew my brother better than anyone else in the world and when he wasn't feeling right, I knew. I also knew that his unease was directly related to my well-being, since Nic only agreed to come into the Hunger Games to look after me. Idiot. As if I couldn't win all by myself.

Naomi was difficult to read. We might be getting along better now that I knew her true colours, but I still didn't trust the girl. I had no doubt that she would stab me in the back the moment she could, and I definitely didn't want to give her that chance. I knew I could take her in a fight, but Naomi didn't strike me as the type of person to "play fair", which meant that I would have to keep an even closer eye on her than the other tributes around the arena. I already felt nervous sleeping with her on night watch, but I knew she was smarter than she let on; meaning that she understands that she needs protection. She wouldn't want to kill her only allies just yet.

"I'm bored," I sighed aloud, brushing a strand of my straight blond hair out of my eyes. "Nic, let's take a walk."

"What about me?" pouted Naomi as she sat up. "What if that anti-Career group decides to attack while I'm sitting here all alone?"

"Well I'm sure you could take them on your own," I replied, my voice dripping with sweetness. "You're _so _talented after all."

"Besides," added Nic, "they don't know that Maddie and Lance aren't with us anymore. They're only three now, so it wouldn't be very smart of them to attack now while we're still strong."

"I still want to come."

I rolled my eyes. "Naomi, someone needs to look after the camp. What if that little thief, Angela, comes back and cleans us out?" I paused. "Look, we won't be gone long. Just a little hunting trip. Oh and if the little thief comes into the camp while we're gone, she's all yours, even though I said I wanted her for myself."

This statement made Naomi's blue eyes gleam slightly. "I want her anyway, regardless of when she comes. I'll watch the camp if you let me have her."

I sighed. "Fine, take her. Just make sure you put on a show, or else I'll have to."

"Got it," said Naomi, grinning. "Have a nice walk."

"See you later."

Nodding to Nic, I started to walk away from the camp. As soon as we were out of earshot, I started to speak.

"I don't trust her."

Nic sighed. "Neither do I," he replied. "But we need her on our side. Three is better than two."

"I don't see why we can't just run off now and leave her," I mumbled, folding my arms as I walked. "She's probably going to turn on us soon anyway."

"I don't think she will," said Nic as he shook his head. "They're still thirteen of us left. She needs protection."

"Thirteen huh? Someone's been keeping track."

Nic grinned. "Want to know who's still around?"

"Go for it."

"Okay," Nic started, holding up his hands to count on his fingers, "if you don't count the two of us and Naomi, there's still ten other tributes running around somewhere."

"Great math skills, Einstein," I said sarcastically. "I would never have worked that out on my own."

Nic ignored me and continued. "Lance and Maddie are still out there somewhere," he said, holding up two fingers for them, "and so is Angela; the girl who's been stealing from us." He held up another finger for her.

"Not for long," I added under my breath. "We'll deal with her soon."

"Lexi, Lee and Vitz are still part of that 'Anti-Career' alliance," Nic went on as he held up three more fingers, "and Lara and the other 12-year-old whose name I can't remember are still alive too."

"The kid is called 'Shay'," I said, scowling, "and Lara won't be alive for much longer either. I want to kill her myself." I turned to Nic. "So that's eight tributes. Who are the other two?"

"The red-haired girl from Twelve and the pretty blond from Seven."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "You think Capri's pretty?"

Nic blushed slightly. "I guess so," was his sheepish reply. "But I'm not the only one! Seni and Lance thought so too!"

"You're such a guy."

We walked in silence for a few minutes after that. I clutched my bow to my shoulder as I walked, ready to strike as soon as I caught sight of another tribute, and Nic walked slightly behind me, probably admiring the landscape as he did. That's just the kind of person he is, always finding beauty in everything and so on. As for me, I really couldn't care less. Sure, the arena we were put in was nice-looking, but we don't really have time to go on nature-walks, now do we? This is a game and we need to stay alert to win it.

"Check out those cats over there!"

I looked over to where Nic was pointing excitedly, shielding my eyes from the sun as I squinted at the golden forms lying in the shade of a large tree.

"I wouldn't call those 'cats'," I muttered, still eyeing the snoozing creatures. "They're about ten times bigger than any cat I've seen in the district."

Nic shrugged. "Still look like cats to me. But yeah, I wouldn't want to get on their bad side."

We continued walking for another fifteen minutes before something on the horizon caught my eye.

"Look," I said, nodding towards my finding. "Trees."

"Wow, I didn't expect a forest out here. I can't believe we haven't walked this way before."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'Oh look, there could be tributes hiding in there!'"

"Well there's only one way to find out."

Ignoring Nic's lame comment, I broke into a jog towards the clump of trees. As we got closer, I realised that it wasn't the typical kind of forest you'd expect to find on the sides of District 2's great mountain. This one consisted of trees I've never seen before in my life; small, densely packed and thorny. A great place for unsuspecting tributes to hide.

The heat lifted almost instantly once we entered the first ring of trees. I heard Nic sigh with relief besides me and I closed my eyes for an instant, enjoying the cool shade. It felt like the baking sun couldn't reach us where we were, but I knew that our relief would be short lived. We would have to get out sometime.

"We should just camp here," sighed Nic, smiling slightly. "Seriously, this is heaven."

"Hopefully some other tributes thought so too," I said, dropping my voice to a whisper so not to be heard. "Especially that little Angela. Screw Naomi! I want her for myself."

"You clearly hold a grudge," Nic commented in an undertone.

I just grinned. "Really now, you should know that already."

Battering another thin branch out of my way, I noticed that Nic and I had entered a small clearing. And in the clearing were two of he strangest creatures I'd ever seen.

Large, grey and wrinkled, the biggest of the creatures towered over us, a sharp, pointed horn on the end of what looked like a nose. The other creature must have been its child, for it looked exactly like the huge one, except small and hornless. I felt nervous just watching the beasts graze peacefully from the grass in the clearing. If that thing got angry and ran at you, there wasn't really much you could do.

"They're kind of sweet," Nic whispered, watching the mother carefully as she nuzzled her baby.

"Sweet until they decide to attack us," I replied, my voice equally quiet. "So there's the mother and the kid. Where's the dad?"

A thundering noise behind us answered that question. Nic and I turned in horror to see and even larger beast crashing through the undergrowth towards us, its horn pointed downwards in attack.

"Found him," Nic said weakly, starting up in horror at the large animal.

"Run you idiot!"

I was already halfway across the clearing before Nic decided to follow. I didn't even turn around to see if he was okay; I just ran for my life. Tree branches whipped my face as I ran, drawing deep lines of red, but I didn't care. I just needed to put as much distance between myself and the charging beast as possible.

I could still hear him behind me, shaking the ground with every step in our direction. I stole a look back, but immediately wished I hadn't when I saw that he was gaining ground. Well at least Nic was catching up to me too.

I suddenly felt two hands on my shoulder and I strong figure forced me down, shoving me to the side at the same time. It was Nic, and he landed heavily on top of me as the beast thundered past us. There was no time to rest. As soon as the beast passed, Nic dragged me to my feet again and we ran. I didn't even care about finding tributes anymore. I just wanted to be as far away from that horned thing as possible.

The beast was charging in our direction again, but we'd managed to get a good head start this time. It wasn't long before we broke out of the trees and into the dry heat of the rest of the arena. I didn't even notice as I ran. I few paces later, I looked back to see that the beast had stopped at the trees and seemed to be watching us run off. We didn't stop. We ran until we couldn't see the trees anymore, but before we'd lost sight of them completely, I could have sworn that I heard some girlish laughter.

**Capri Arello, District 7 (17)**

"Lance, my feet hurt. Can't we rest for a bit?"

Lance was walking ahead, using our new spear as a walking stick, and he didn't bother to turn around when he replied.

"Rest where, Linda? There's no way I'm sitting in the sun in this heat."

"Stop bloody calling me Linda!"

Lance chuckled. "Look, we can rest when we find a nice tree, okay?"

"Fine," I muttered, glaring daggers at his back, "but you're going to be the one rubbing my feet when we make camp tonight."

"There's no way in hell that I'm going to rub your sweaty feet."

A few hours ago, Lance had the "great" idea to pack up and move camps, just because he felt like it. He claimed it was because he didn't feel comfortable staying in one place for too long in case the Careers found them, but I bet it was just because he was bored. Or maybe because our water was running out and we needed more.

Squinting into the bright sunlight, I looked out towards the horizon, trying to spot some trees. This proved to be harder than it sounded, because my vision swam with the heat waves, making the long grass in the distance appear to be jumping. Eventually, the individual waves blurred into one and the sea of grass before us started to look like one huge lake of yellow liquid. There was nothing out there; no trees, no animals, not a single thing.

"That's it," I muttered angrily, dropping to the ground and crossing my legs underneath me. "I'm not moving anymore and you can't make me!"

Lance turned around, eyebrows raised, and sighed heavily. "Really, Linda, this is how it's going to be?"

I nodded, ignoring his annoying nickname. "I'm not going anywhere."

This just made Lance smirk. Walking over to where I was sitting, he reached out his spear and started to poke me with the wooden end.

"Get. Up," he said, each syllable resulting in a new poke. "We. Need. To. Go."

I crossed my arms and stared up at him defiantly. "No."

This time he wrapped me on the head with the spear.

"Come on now," he sang. "Don't make me use the sharp end."

"Don't you even think about it."

"I'm thinking about it."

"Oh what I comeback," I sneered, trying my best not to laugh at him. "Aren't you smart."

"Smarter than you, it seems," he replied. "You're the moron who decided to sit in the sun in the heat of the day. You're going to get sunstroke."

I didn't know what sunstroke was, but I really couldn't care less.

"Oh yeah?" I retorted. "Well, you're the genius that decided to make us walk through this heat!"

"I am a genius, aren't I?"

"Oh, shut up."

Lance gave me one last poke before dropping the spear and sitting down besides me.

"I guess a few minutes' rest won't hurt," he said, digging around in his pack for our last bottle of water. "But only a few minutes, okay? We need to find some shade soon."

I grabbed the water out of his hands and took a huge sip. It was lukewarm from being in the bag all day, but boy did I need it. Lance made a snatch for the bottle as I started my second sip, but I managed to move out of the way in time and his fingers just caught air.

"What do you think the time is?" I asked, passing the half-empty bottle over to him. "I want to know when this damn sun is going down."

Lance looked annoyed that half of our remaining water supply had disappeared, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he looked up into the sky.

"Well, judging from the position of the sun," he said slowly, shielding his eyes from the glare, "I'd say it was around-hey look! A parachute!"

I jumped up. "Please be water, please be water, please be water."

It wasn't water. It was something else entirely.

"What the hell is this?" I screamed, brandishing the small piece of pink paper in front of Lance's face. I could feel my face growing red, and I hoped Lance thought it was from the heat and not my immense embarrassment.

Lance carefully took the piece of paper from my grip, opening it slowly to reveal its true heart shape. He burst into laughter.

"'Capri and Lance 4eva'," he read, struggling to get the words out because he was laughing so hard. "Oh my God, this is brilliant!"

"Read the back."

Lance turned the heart over and began to laugh again.

"'Lapri'," he said in amusement. "Check it out, we have a couple name! I didn't even realise that we were a couple!"

"Oh, we're not," I said quickly, setting it straight before he got any ideas. "Never in a million years."

"Don't flatter yourself, Linda. You're not my type. I prefer brunettes." He paused. "But I guess we should show our lovely Capitol-fan some appreciation for their gift."

Before I could stop him, Lance bent down and kissed me lightly on the mouth. I jerked back in surprise, my eyes widening in shock as stared at Lance's face.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded as I felt my cheeks reddening again. "What the hell!"

Lance rolled his eyes and straightened up again. "No need to over-react. Like I said, I was just showing appreciation for the gift. It's not like I _wanted _to kiss you."

Still stunned, I got to my feet and picked up the backpack we shared.

"We've sat here long enough," I said, starting to walk. "Let's find that shade you promised me. And that foot-rub!"

"I didn't promise you a foot-rub."

"I'm sure our _Capitol-fan _would love to see it."

Lance just laughed and, picking up his spear again, he started to follow. I glanced back at him to check how far behind me he was, and was just in time to see him stuff the heart-shaped piece of paper into his jacket pocked. I couldn't help but smile.

**Angela Hopeful Winters, District 8 (13)**

Watching Sierra and Nic being chased by the beast with the horns was the funniest thing I'd seen for a while. I couldn't even contain my laughter, but luckily the Golding siblings were too busy running away to notice me high up in my tree.

Sierra was right when she said that other tributes would want to use the small forest for shelter. I'd been using it since I found it the night Maddie caught me stealing from the Career's supplies and I knew for a fact that Lara, Shay and Vee passed through the area yesterday. They certainly weren't quiet about it, but luckily for them I didn't fancy taking on a group of three tributes all on my own, especially with Lara as the leader.

The three girls, plus Nic and Sierra, were the only humans I'd seen in days. I'd heard three cannons in the past two days, but I couldn't see who they were because the thick forest canopy blocked out the sky from my hiding place. Wait, actually I had managed to catch a glimpse of the last dead tribute, Zachary Swift, when I scaled the full length of a nearby tree as soon as I heard the Capitol anthem start to play. I wonder who the other two dead tributes were? Is it too ambitious to hope for a Career?

Finishing up my thick braid and fastening it with an elastic band, I swung my legs over the branch I was sitting on and dropped to the ground, landing lightly on my feet like a gymnast. If there was one thing I took pride in about myself, it was my agility. Maybe if I had parents, they'd have signed me up for gymnastics lessons when I was younger. I could have gotten really good, maybe even becoming one of those performers that travel to the Capitol for shows. I wonder if my new parents would take me to lessons, since I was probably still young enough to learn.

My heart stung a little as I thought about the O'Rileys, the family that voiced an interest in adopting me before I got reaped. I wonder if the were watching me now, rejoicing that I'm still alive and praying that this day wouldn't be my last. Or were they even watching? Maybe they thought that a skinny thirteen-year-old like me would never stand a chance in the Hunger Games, so they gave up on me as soon as I left and set their hearts on another little girl. Maybe they were Lea's parents now.

Thinking about Lea made me think about my best friend, Chase, too, which just reminded me of how lonely I was. I'd formed an alliance with the two fifteen-year-olds from District 3, Dayta Exe and Cordin Bleu, on our last day in the Capitol, but both of them were killed in the bloodbath. I didn't know either of them very well, but it still hurt knowing that they were dead. They were supposed to follow me after I cause the distraction I did by screaming when the gong went off, but they were still frozen on their plates by the time I'd reached the hill. I don't know who killed them exactly, but I'd rather never find out.

I carefully unhooked up bow from the branch it was hanging from and hung it over my shoulder. I hoped I wouldn't need it tonight, but I'd watched enough Games to know that it was never a good idea to go anywhere without a weapon. Especially to the Career's camp.

I didn't want to go to the Career's camp again, but I was so desperate that I had no choice. I'd run out of food two days ago (I wasn't skilled enough with the bow and arrows to try and hunt some more) and I'd drunk the last of my water the pervious morning. The sponsors had certainly been stingy with their gifts lately, so I was forced to steal from where ever I could, which unfortunately meant the Careers. Lara and her allies hadn't stayed in the forest long enough for me to grab some supplies from them, and I had no idea where Lexi's alliance or the District 7 girl were hiding either. I had no choice but to go to the Career's camp. It was a better idea then giving up and starving to death while waiting for the sponsor gift that never came.

The forest was never quiet at night. The soft chirps of crickets followed me as I walked through the undergrowth, and I could have sworn I heard a soft growl as I passed a particularly thick bush. My skin broke out in goosebumps and I detached my bow from my shoulder; just in case the growling beast decided to make an appearance.

The stars' light didn't reach the dense forest floor and I couldn't see more than I few feet in front of me. For all I knew, the horned-beast from earlier could be waiting just out of sight, ready to charge as soon as I was in its reach. Funnily enough, that idea didn't scare me nearly as much as what I thought would happen if one of the Careers found me. At least the horned-beast would make it quick.

Soon I was out of the forest and the light of the full moon hit me with full force. I was surprised, and annoyed, that it was so light out in the open. The term "hunter's moon" came to mind as I walked and I hoped that that wouldn't prove true for the Careers tonight. Or any other creature in a mile radius of myself either for that matter! A nice, quiet walk was all I wanted. Well, that and some supplies.

Guided by the moon, I soon fell into step with the familiar path I'd taken to the Career's camp so many nights before. I felt nervous, but I took comfort in the fact that out of the four times I'd visited them at night, I'd only been caught once. Maybe they'd assume that I wasn't dumb enough to go back.

"_Lance, I'm not kidding. Poke me with that spear one more time and you're sleeping in the cold tonight."_

I froze as I heard the sharp voice of Capri, the girl from District 7. So this was where Lance disappeared to when he broke away from the Career pack. I'd always wondered where he went.

"_You're such a kill-joy. Come on, it doesn't hurt."_

"_Yeah, but it's annoying as hell!"_

The voices were close, which meant their camp was somewhere nearby. Luckily I'd heard them talking, otherwise I would have walked right into them! I dare say they wouldn't be very happy about that. I turned quietly and started to walk off at an angle to where the voices came from.

"_What was that? I think someone's out there."_

I froze again, my heart beating quickly.

"_You're such a liar, Linda. You're just trying to distract me from poking you."_

"_Ouch! Seriously, quit it! I really did hear something."_

"_Relax, it's probably your mind playing tricks on you."_

"_Stop bloody poking me!"_

I melted back into the shadows. I didn't see Capri as much of a threat, but Lance was definitely not someone who I'd want to meet in the dark.

I picked up my pace once I was sure I was far away from Lance and Capri. I just wanted to get to the Career's camp and back to my hiding place as quickly as possible.

I got the fright of my life as a rabbit darted across my path, disappearing into the long grass just in front of me. I sighed, wishing that I could use my bow well enough to catch the animal for dinner, though deep down I was actually quite relieved that I didn't have to kill the little creature. That was definitely one of my main problems in the arena; my inability to kill. I didn't feel comfortable with the idea of killing anyone, even a Career like Sierra, and I started to feel uneasy just thinking about it. Maybe the situation would be different when I was actually attacked and my life was at stake, but I wouldn't know for certain unless I was actually in that position, which I hoped I never would be in. I knew I should have shot Lara, Shay and Vee from my tree-top perch when they passed underneath me, but my body wouldn't let me. I just watched them quietly.

Before I knew it, I had reached the Career's camp. The small flickering fire illuminated the shadowy figure of Naomi, who was leaning against a tree obviously on night-watch. Sierra and Nic were lying a few feet away, bodies pressed together to keep warm in the sleeping bag that they were sharing. Fast asleep, they looked like any innocent brother and sister pair on a camping trip, but I knew all too well what the two of them were really like.

There was no sign of Seni and Maddie. I knew that Lance had left the group, but the other members of the Career pack were nowhere to be seen either. Did the other two cannons I heard belong to them? I sure hoped so.

I strung my bow and crept closer towards the Cornucopia. Naomi continued to poke the dying fire, oblivious to my movements. Good.

Once inside the Cornucopia, I grabbed three bottles of water and the closest food items I could find, which happened to be two loafs or bread and a large packet of dried fruit. I wanted some meat, but I really could afford to be picky. I stuffed I items as silently as I could into my bag and, zipping it up, I quickly exited the Cornucopia.

"Not another step, District 8."

I froze, my blood running cold with terror. Naomi was right behind me, and I probably wouldn't be as lucky this time as I was the last. I turned slowly, dropping the bag with the supplies.

"The bow too," said Naomi in a bored voice, her blue eyes glancing at the strung bow in my hands with a hint of apprehension. "By the time you point it at me, this knife will be in your pretty little head."

I dropped the bow, too afraid to think of a comeback to Naomi's words. Usually I'd have one ready in a flash, but the way Naomi was looking at me while fingering the knife in her grip filled me with utter terror.

"Much better," Naomi said as a sadistic grin spread over her face. "Now we can have some fun. How about a little game?"

"Cool, I love games," I said weakly, struggling to keep my voice even. "How about hide and seek? You close your eyes and count to sixty, and I'll hide."

Naomi giggled. "You're funny, District 8. But I have another game in mind. It's called 'How long can the little thief survive with her intestines on the ground'. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"I think I like my game better," I replied, my voice shaking. "Are you sure you don't want to give it a try?"

"Do you know what they do to thieves in District 4?" Naomi asked, ignoring my question. "They either chop of their hands, so they never steal again, or they send them to the Capitol to become avoxes." She took a step closer. "I'll give you the full experience of course, but you can decide what you'd like first. Should I cut off your hands, or your tongue?"

I didn't reply. This girl was completely crazy. I would have probably been better off with Sierra finding me instead. This girl was going to kill me in the most painful way possible.

Suddenly, something pierced my stomach, puncturing the skin and forcing all the air out of my lungs. Fighting back tears of pain, I looked down to see an arrow sticking out of my middle, blood running from the wound and down my legs. A moment later, a second arrow joined the first, causing another jolt of pain through my already injured body.

I looked up at Naomi, expecting to see her with a bow in her hands and grinning with glee, but the older girl looked absolutely furious.

"Sierra!" she whined, turning to the shadows. "You promised you'd let me have her!"

"Well I lied," said the unmistakable voice of District 2's female tribute as she came out from behind a tree. "I just said that to make you keep guard. Did you really think that I'd let you kill the little thief all on your own?"

Naomi pouted. "You could have at least let me gut her before you stick her arrows into her!"

"God, you're such a baby. Get over it. She's not dead yet, gut her now for all I care."

"I would if she was still there!"

I had already disappeared by the time the girls realised that I was gone. I crashed through the long grass, tears of pain and fear running down my cheeks and mixing with the blood from the large wound in my stomach. I didn't want to look down, because if I did, I would see the two arrow shafts sticking out of my stomach, covered in my blood. I ignored the pain as best as I could as I ran, with one single thought giving me the strength to keep going.

I wasn't dead yet.

**And she's not. Angela most certainly isn't dead yet and you can expect to see more from her in the next chapter, so stay tuned! Just be warned though...tributes are going to start dying quite quickly now. The Capitol needs a good show after all.**

**I've finally got all the spots for my sequel! A huge thank you to everyone who has submitted and a reminder to some of you that I still need the tributes you've promised me. **

**Thanks for reading and I hope you all take a few seconds to review. It doesn't have to be long, I just want to know who's reading.**

**Until next time,**

**-Hutsune**

**(I think I'm going to start signing these. I've seen other authors do it and it looked like a good idea.)**


	29. Chapter 27: Plans

**Naomi Sakura, District 4 (17)**

"Why isn't she dead yet?"

I rolled my eyes as I watched Sierra pace up and down in front of the fire, angrily kicking up dirt as she walked. The District 2 girl was red in the face with anger, or maybe it was from pacing up and down for the last two hours. Either way, I was enjoying the view.

"Well maybe if you let _me_ deal with her," I said, my voice sweetly sarcastic, "then I'd have done the job properly and we'd have seen her little face in the sky last night."

I ducked quickly as she threw a stone at my head. "Shut up, Naomi," she spat, going back to her pacing. "I don't need your input here."

I just shrugged. "You asked."

"Just let her be, Naomi," sighed Nic from a few meters away. "There's no reasoning with her when she's in this kind of mood-hey!"

He only just managed to get out of the way as Sierra hurled another stone in his direction.

"I don't need your input either!"

Nic sighed again and, picking up the knife he had dropped when Sierra threw the stone at him, went back to carving a small figure out of a piece of wood he'd found earlier. I craned my neck to get a better look.

"What you making there?"

Nic looked up, surprised at my interest.

"It's a cat," he replied simply, holding it up for me to take a look at. "See."

"Nic's always had a strange obsession with cats," sneered Sierra. "It's quite weird actually."

"I like cats," he said to me, ignoring Sierra's comment. "They're nice, friendly, and really good listeners."

"Yes Nic, because that's what you do all day back at home. Poor out your soul to a cat."

Again, Nic ignored his sister's comment.

"I've got three at home," he continued. "All rescued off the street. And despite what she might say," he shot a look at Sierra, "my sister loves them too."

"Oh please, I just tolerate them to keep you off my case."

"And that's exactly why you let Whiskers sleep on your bed every night."

Now Sierra ignored him.

"I like cats too," I said, smiling at Nic as Sierra continued to pace. "There are loads down at the docks in District 4, but both my parents are allergic so we've never been able to keep one."

"That's too bad," replied Nic, giving me a sad look.

"Yeah, I real shame," Sierra added sarcastically, sneering again.

"I'll tell you what," said Nic, putting down his knife. "You can have this cat, since you've never had one before." He tossed the small wooden figure at me. "Here, it's all yours."

I looked down at the statue that had landed neatly in my lap. It was tiny, only a few centimetres in length, but beautifully detailed all the same. Nic had even managed to scratch a few whiskers onto its miniscule face.

"Thank you," I said gratefully. "It's beautiful."

Sierra made a gagging noise, but otherwise ignored us.

"You're most welcome."

In all honesty, it wasn't just the cat that I was thanking Nic for. What Nic had shown me the most today was kindness, something I didn't get very much of back home. My oldest sister made sure of that every day of my life.

"Naomi? Hello? Are you all right?"

Blinking back the small tears that had formed in my eyes, I looked up to face Nic, hoping that he hadn't seen anything.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, the question sounding more like an accusation that anything else.

"Sorry, you just looked a little sad."

"But I'm not, got it?"

"You guys are weird," said Sierra, stopping her pacing long enough to glare at both of us. "Like a bunch of little girls. Grow up."

"Shut up, Sierra," Nic and I said in unison, and then laughed. Sierra didn't find it funny and sent two more rocks flying our way.

"I wonder what happened to Maddie," said Nic suddenly, frowning slightly. "It's strange not having her around."

"I hope she gets eaten by some huge beast soon," Sierra muttered angrily. "How dare she reject our invitation to join us again! We were offering her a life-line! She's so dead next time we see her!"

"How many people have rejected you now, Sierra?" I asked innocently. "There's Maddie, that District 11 girl-"

"-That handsome boy from the Training Academy-"

"Oh you two are just so funny," Sierra replied, smiling sarcastically. "Well I'll have you know Nic, Hunter didn't reject me. No one rejects me."

"Well Maddie and the District 11 girl sure did."

This time Sierra's rock made contact with his face.

**Vitz Morales, District 6 (18)**

The cold morning air hit me like a ton of bricks as I wriggled out of my sleeping bag to relieve Lexi from her night-watch shift. I wanted nothing more than to climb back in and go back to sleep, but I knew Lexi would be mad if I didn't take over from her soon. She'd been up for hours and must have been exhausted by now.

Stuffing my hands into my jacket pocket, I turned to look for Lexi, quickly finding her leaning against a tree stump a few meters away. She took no notice of me as I walked towards her and just continued to stare straight ahead.

"You're free to go now," I said as my teeth started to chatter. "Go enjoy your warm sleep while I freeze to death out here. I'm beginning to regret agreeing with Lee about the whole 'no fire at night' thing."

Lexi ignored me.

"Lexi?"

"Is it mean to say that I regret coming here?" she asked suddenly, still not looking at me.

"Um, no?" I replied, confused. "It's not like us outer-district kids ever have a choice about entering the Hunger Games anyway. We have no choice."

"I did. I volunteered to save Rebecca."

Oh, right. I had completely forgotten that Lexi was a volunteer, choosing to save her cousin's life over her own. I didn't know Rebecca personally, but I'd heard a lot about her from other guys I knew who had "employed" her "services". The whole concept of this sweet young girl selling herself for money really sickened me, but Corolla told me not to judge so I didn't. It just made me sad to think about what kind of desperate situation the poor girl lived in to be forced into that.

"Answer me Vitz."

I sighed. "I don't know, okay? Would you be happier if Rebecca was here and you were at home watching?"

There was a slight pause. "No. I wouldn't."

"Well I'd sure be happier at home."

Lexi smiled slightly and moved over so that I could sit down next to her. Putting her head on my shoulder, she said, "I wish we were home too."

We didn't speak for a while after that. Lexi closed her eyes and soon her breathing became even and rhythmical, like one's does when you're asleep. I just sat there, watching my breath mist out in front of my face every time I breathed out. Despite the cold, it was quite peaceful sitting there with Lexi.

"My daughter was due today," I said quietly to Lexi's sleeping form, not knowing if she could hear me or not. "Corolla wanted to name her Ava, after my late mother, but I liked the same Celica better. She agreed with me eventually."

Lexi didn't reply, her even breathing the only noise in the quiet night.

"Corolla was afraid to give birth, you know," I continued, looking down at the sleeping girl leaning against my shoulder. "I don't even think she wanted a baby in the first place. We didn't plan to be parents; it just happened." I paused. "But on the bright side, I've learned that people are more likely to give you a job if you tell them you have a baby on the way."

There was still no reply from Lexi, not like I was expecting one anyway since she was asleep. I chuckled. She sure was easier to get along with when she was asleep.

"I was going to have a kid too," said a voice from my left. "But then all this happened."

I jumped in surprise. "Lee, I didn't know you were awake."

"It's kind of hard to sleep with your constant chatter," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Now scoot over. I don't want to be left out of this DMC."

"DMC?"

"Deep meaningful conversation. Come on Vitz, move up."

I shifted over slightly to make room for Lee against the tree stump. Lexi grumbled slightly in her sleep as I moved her, but didn't wake.

"How can you have a child?" I asked, frowning at him as he sat down. "I thought you were...liked guys."

Lee chuckled. "There's more than one way to get a kid, Vitz." He sighed sadly. "My boyfriend, Rye, and I always knew that we wanted kids. We decided that once we were older and had a stable income, we were going to adopt children. Rye had the whole thing planned out. We were going to get a daughter first, a pretty red-haired child named Oak, and then we were going to adopt a son. We hadn't got around to thinking of a name for him yet. Looks like we never will now."

"Looks like I never will either."

"Or me." Lexi had woken up now and was staring up at us, her blue eyes sad. "That's something I didn't want to miss out on."

Silence again.

"This conversation is getting really depressing," sighed Lee, crossing his arms over his chest in an attempt to keep out the cold. "Can we please talk about something else now?"

"How about your plan, Lex?" I asked, changing the subject quickly. "I think we should put it into action now. What do you say?"

Lexi sighed. "The whole point of the plan was to take out the Careers in the beginning of the Games to give the other, untrained, tributes a better chance at survival. Only half of us are left now. What's the point?"

"Well we could give that other half a better chance. Including us."

"Do you think it would work now?" Lexi asked, looking up at me. "I mean, they know what we are planning, right? That traitor Braxton must have told them when he joined."

"I don't think they're expecting us anymore," said Lee thoughtfully. "Maybe they thought that we'd given up on that idea after we lost Zach and Evelyn. Or that we changed our plans once Brax turned on us?"

"Possibly," Lexi yawned, stretching her arms up above her head. "So what, you guys think we should try it?"

Lee and I exchanged glances before nodding. "Yes, we should."

"But tomorrow," added Lee, mirroring Lexi's yawn. "I'm too tired to talk strategy now. Night night guys."

"Night."

After Lee got up and left, Lexi rested her head on my shoulder once again.

"Do you think we will win?" she asked quietly, a hint of doubt in her usually strong voice.

"I really don't know," I replied, resting my head on top of hers. "We'll just have to see."

**Lara Anders, District 11 (17)**

"Lara, can I ask you a question?"

"Depends."

"Where are we going?"

I glanced over my shoulder to where Shay was packing the last few items from our camp into her backpack, making sure she was well out of ear shot before I answered Vee's question.

"We're going to a new camp," I replied evenly, looking away. "It's too dangerous to stay in one place, you know that."

"I'm not stupid, Lara. I know when something's up."

Casting another look at Shay, I turned quickly and grabbed Vee's arm, pulling her towards me.

"Don't ask me this now," I hissed into her ear. "_They _can hear us."

Vee frowned, but said nothing. She seemed to understand who I meant by "_they_".

The District 12 girl was a lot smarter than I gave her credit for, or maybe I was just too caught up in my plan to notice that she was catching on. I'd thought that I was being discrete, but apparently not discrete enough. I guess waking up before sunrise every day to travel in the exact same direction might cause suspicion in someone who in naturally untrusting, like Vee for instance. Well, it didn't really matter if she knew what was going on anyway; she'd probably want to help, being Vee and all. Everything would work out as long as _they _didn't realise what was going on.

I was only eight when my older sister, Liza, was reaped for the Hunger Games. She was just a kid herself, having turned twelve a few weeks previously, and honestly didn't stand much of a chance at all. She was one of the first to die.

After Liza's death I retreated into my own mind. I became depressed, withdrawn, and just generally angry at everything. I wanted revenge for my sister, and for my mother too, who hung herself a few weeks after Liza was killed. Thanks to the Capitol, I'd lost half my family in the space of three weeks, so when Thistle Brooke approached me with her plan after I was reaped, I couldn't refuse.

Thistle Brooke was the third victor for District 11; having won her Games when she was sixteen-years-old. Now, Thistle has been mentoring for nearly twenty years and hasn't had a single victor for our district. You can imagine how difficult that is to go through; getting two new, innocent children every year only to watch them die soon afterwards. She was Liza's mentor, and mine too.

It's no secret that Thistle hates the Capitol. She certainly doesn't hide the fact that she thinks they're disgusting, but President Snow doesn't take her too seriously because most people write her off as crazy. But I didn't. And now we're going to show the Capitol what we're made of.

My mentor approached me in the Justice Building after my teary-eyed father said his goodbyes. She said that she had been watching me for a while and knew all about my life, ever since the deaths of my sister and my mother. She said that I was exactly the kind of person that she was looking for to do this very special job, which made me wonder if she'd arranged for my name to be pulled out of the reaping ball. Shay would say that it was God's will, but I'm going to call it fate. It's my destiny to do this.

Thistle told me that she wasn't the only victor against the Hunger Games. There's a group of them who want to put a stop to them at all costs, a group who needs the help of a tribute on the inside of the arena. A tribute like me. A tribute who isn't afraid to die.

I slipped my hand into my jacket pocket and felt it close around my small district token. My token, a smooth stone carved into the shape of a bird in flight, actually wasn't from my district at all. It was specially engineered in District 3, by one of their top scientists who happened to be the brother of another past victor. It was created to be a tiny, but extremely powerful, atomic bomb, virtually undetectable by technology unless you know exactly what to look for. It was so easy for the district token of a lowly outer-district girl to be over-looked. If all went according to plan, I'd reach the edge of the arena tomorrow afternoon and activate the bomb. The force field around the arena would amplify it, killing everyone inside instantly and taking the surrounding Gamemakers with it. The 49th Hunger Games wouldn't have a victor. Instead, a statement would have been made about how wrong these Games really are. Thistle and her allies would take credit for the act and, with the help of the districts, lead a rebel force against the Capitol to put an end to their horror once and for all. Well, that was the plan anyway. It would be a pity that I wouldn't be around to see it, but I know my death must happen to set the plan in motion. Maybe this is why people think Thistle is crazy. In my opinion, she's a genius.

Creating an alliance with Shay was a mistake. Even though I knew that we were all going to die anyway, I couldn't leave her at the Cornucopia on the day of the bloodbath. She reminded me too much of Liza, and I would have given anything for someone to have saved her during her Games. For all I knew, Shay has a little sister too, praying and waiting for her to come home, just like I was when Liza was taken away. This just goes to show how little I knew about my ally, but I still think the less I know, the better. I was already feeling guilty about leading her to her death and I didn't want to have to think about her family back in District 10 too. I knew that her father was a priest, and that information was enough already. Betraying the little girl's trust like this hurt, even if it was for the greater good. I just hoped that she'd understand when the time came.

Vee was another story. I didn't want to form an alliance with her either, but after Shay insisted I started to see how she could be useful. I remembered the defiant look in her eyes that day I saw her get off the train in the Capitol, a look that said that she wanted to be more than just a little piece in their Games. She's smart and will see things from mine, and Thistle's, point of view when the time came. She could be a powerful ally.

"Ready to go?"

I looked down to see Shay standing at my shoulder.

"Yeah," I replied, smiling. "I'm ready."

Vee said nothing and started to walk, already knowing which way we'd be going since we went the same way every day. I wondered if she knew that we were going to the edge of the arena. She suddenly slowed down and fell into step besides me.

"I want to know what's going on," she whispered through the corner of her mouth, staring straight ahead as to appear not to be talking.

"I'll tell you during the anthem," I answered, equally quiet. "We can't be heard then."

Vee just nodded.

We walked straight on through the heat of the day. No one complained. In fact, no one spoke at all. Shay seemed to have sensed the tense atmosphere between Vee and I, and had decided to stay silent throughout the whole trip. We breaked for lunch under a tall, thorny tree and continued on our way a few minutes later, ignoring the heard of buck that seemed to have appeared around us. It was when the sun had finally started to set when we saw the girl.

"Oh my God," whispered Vee, putting her hand over her mouth as she noticed the small figure propped up against a tree. "Are those arrows in her stomach?"

I nodded. "I think so. It's a miracle she's not dead."

"How do you know?" asked Shay, squinting at the body. "How can someone possibly survive that?"

"She isn't surviving it," I said sadly. "She won't be able to hold on much longer."

Before I could stop her, Shay had started running towards the girl, dropping her pack in the process. Vee and I just looked at each other before following. We both know that Shay would want to save the girl, even though it would be impossible at this stage. We'd need a hospital to successfully remove the arrows from her stomach, something that you don't get in the middle of the Hunger Games. She was as good as dead.

Shay was kneeling besides the girl when we reached her, brushing a few strands of jet-black hair of her sweaty face. The girl's eyes fluttered open and she grinned weakly at us.

"This is probably the strangest thing you've ever seen, right?"

Vee nodded, returning the weak grin. "Probably."

The girl smiled. "Yeah, me too." She looked down at the two arrows sticking out of her stomach. "I don't think I'm going to be able to bounce back from this one."

None of us replied. We just all looked down sadly at the girl, Shay even reaching out and stroking on of her small hands.

"I thought it would hurt more," the girl said, closing her grey eyes again. "It did an hour ago, but now I don't feel anything."

"That's good I guess," Vee replied, smiling sadly. "You wouldn't want to feel those two arrows anyway."

"Not the arrows. Dying." She looked up at us again. "That's what's happening, isn't it? I'm dying?" She sniffed, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I don't want to die. Is that so selfish? I want to live."

"Shhh," said Shay soothingly, gently squeezing her hand. "You're not being selfish. Not at all."

"I'm scared."

"Don't be. It will just be like falling asleep, I promise."

The girl blinked back her tears and looked up at Shay. "Do you believe in heaven?"

Shay smiled. "Yes, I do. Do you?"

"I want to."

Now Shay was blinking away tears too. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and then continued to speak.

"Heaven is a wonderful place, you know. There's no pain or suffering there and everyone is happy. Nothing can ever hurt you there. And it's beautiful too. Very green and full of life, with every kind of animal you can ever dream of. Not to mention the food. You'll never be hungry again."

"That sounds nice," sniffed the girl. "I want heaven to be real."

Vee and I knelt down too, silently surveying the scene before us. Shay was kneeling besides the girl, smiling slightly while grasping both of her frail hands between hers. The girl was smiling up at her, content with listening to every word Shay said. She looked happy.

Then Shay began to speak again:

"_The Lord is my shepherd,_

_I shall not want._

_He makes me lie down in green pastures,_

_he leads me besides quiet waters,_

_he restores my soul._

_He guides me in the path of righteousness_

_for his name's sake._

_Even though I walk through the valley_

_of the shadow of death,_

_I will fear no evil,_

_for you are with me;_

_your rod and staff,_

_they comfort me."_

I looked over at Vee to find there were tears in her eyes too. I was surprised to find them in my eyes as well. The simple beauty and kindness of Shay's tribute was so touching, it even moved me.

The girl was smiling now, her eyes staring beyond Shay and into the distance. Whatever she was gazing at, it made her happy.

_Boom._

Another tear rolled down Shay's cheek as she let go of the girl's hands, crossing them over in her lap. Vee reached forward and closed the girl's vacant eyes, trying not to cry herself as she put an arm around Shay. Neither of them had known the girl before today, and yet they were both so saddened by her death. Things should never have to be this way.

The black-haired girl's death was a reminder to me about exactly why I agreed to do what Thistle planned. These "Games" just make the innocent suffer and it's not fair. That little girl didn't deserve to die leaning against a tree with two arrows sticking out of her stomach, far away from home. Nobody deserves that.

Which was why I was going to put a stop to it.

**Is it just me, or is Lara sounding like a suicide bomber? **

**Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than usual. The real world can be so demanding at times. **

**It's been a while since I've posted, so here's a quick update on things you might not remember (because I've been so bad at updating).**

**Alliances:**

Careers: Sierra (D2), Nic (D2) and Naomi (D4). They're still camping by the river and have finally gotten rid of their thief problem (RIP Angela). They haven't been very successful with hunting, so I dare sat that they're getting quite frustrated with their lack of killing lately.

Anti-Careers: Lexi (D6), Vitz (D6) and Lee (D9). They've finally decided to make their move on the Careers. They certainly have waited long enough!

Lara (D11), Shay (D10) and Vee (D12): They're still moving to the edge of the arena, but could the Gamemakers get suspicious like Vee did?

Capri (D7) and Lance (D4): Everyone's favourite "couple" is still doing okay, and being as charming as ever. It's like they're living in their own little bubble at the moment, away from all the drama in the arena. But of course, it's going to have to pop some day.

Maddie (D1): She certainly has been very quiet lately. She's doing a great job of flying under the radar for the moment, but she's going to have to make an appearance sometime (most likely soon).

**Hopefully that refreshed your memory about who's still alive and kicking. Just a warning, the death rate is going to pick up from the next chapter. The anti-career confrontation is not to be missed! 12 tributes down, 11 more to go!**

**Thanks for reading and please review :) **


	30. Chapter 28: Showdown

**Vee Clesta, District 12 (15)**

We had been walking for hours and I still had no idea where we were going. Scratch that, I knew where _Lara_ was going. Or more like, trying to go. I'd watched enough Games to know that nothing good ever comes out of heading to the edge of the arena. Lara's stubbornness was going to get us all killed.

Brushing my dark red hair out of my eyes for about the hundredth time that day, I looked up towards the two girls walking in front of me. Lara was first, her long legs striding determinedly through the long grass. Little Shay followed closely behind, her tiny hand clutched in Lara's. She was so small, so innocent looking that it hurt to think of the fate that would eventually fall on her. Lara was right. It wasn't fair. This whole idea is sick. Making us fight each other to the death, it's disgusting! We're all people, all humans; Humans shouldn't do this to each other. Especially to children!

Lara had told me about her plan to blow up the arena last night during the anthem; using the loud music and the distraction of seeing Angela Hopeful Winter's face in the shy to hide her words from Shay and everyone else who could be watching. Even though I understood her point and why we should be going through with the idea, I still thought that Lara was completely crazy. Yes it would shock a few people, but would that really be enough to throw the whole country into a state of unrest?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice Lara and Shay stopping until it was too late. I walked right into Shay, sending her sprawling into Lara who shot me an angry look.

"It's a gorge," said Lara, her voice showing no emotion. "We're going to have to go through it."

"Can't we go around?" I asked, cupping a hand to my forehead and squinting into the sunlight.

Lara shook her head. "No, it's too far. I can see a way down though, Come on, before it gets dark."

"You're joking, right?" I demanded, not believing what I was hearing. "This gorge has 'Gamemaker's trap' written all over it!"

Lara just ingored me and made her way to the edge. Shay just shrugged and followed.

I didn't like the idea of going into the gorge one bit. It felt completely wrong, but I followed the others down the side anyway. Why haven't the Gamemakers tried to stop us yet? Surely they knew what Lara was planning? They honestly can't be that stupid, can they?

Shay slipped slightly on the way down, grabbing onto Lara for support. Lara put a protective arm around her and said, "Don't worry, Shay, Everything will be okay. You'll see."

_Not really, _I thought, annoyed. _You're about to blow us all up for Christ's sake!_

At this point in time, I still didn't know if I was okay with Lara's plan or not. I knew the chances of me winning the Games was twelve to one at this point (in other words, basically nothing), but maybe a part of me still wished to live to try make in back home, even with the shitty odds. Maybe a part of me knew that Lara's plan would fail, and that's the only reason I went along with it?

It took quicker then expected to reach the bottom of the gorge. We stopped to rest for a few minutes, finishing our water supply.

"I hope there's more at the top," I said, looking up the opposite side of the gorge. "Speaking of the top, can you guys see a way up? I see nothing."

Lara was silent, studying the walls of the gorge.

"I don't see a way either," she said, taking hold of Shay's hand again. "We should walk further down. Maybe there's a way up there."

She began to lead Shay away, leaving me to follow. The bad feeling I had about the gorge wouldn't go away. It looked harmless enough, but I just felt like something bad was about to happen. I knew we needed to get out. And fast.

"I think we should go back," I said suddenly, running up to Lara and Shay. "We're too restricted in here. The Gamemakers could do anything to us in here and then we're all dead. It's not like them to sit back and watch as tributes attempt to do what we're doing.-"

"-Enough Vee," Lara cut across, holding up her hand to silence me. "If you're worried, you can go back up. I won't stop you. Shay and I are moving on though. We're nearly there. I can feel it!"

I didn't want to argue with Lara, nor did I want to go back up by myself. Maybe I was just being silly about the whole thing. The Gamemakers probably know that whatever we try won't succeed and are just letting us carry on with our actions because it makes good TV. Reassured with there thoughts, I broke into a run after Lara and Shay.

Suddenly, Lara stopped.

"What's that noise?" she asked, cocking her head slightly to listen better. "Can you hear that?"

"It sounds like running," said Shay, holding tighter to Lara's hand. "Where's it coming from?"

"Behind us," I said quietly and we all turned to face the horror that was nearly upon us.

There were thousands of them, all running as fast as they could towards us. I didn't know what these mutts were called, but they were big, brown and had large, curled horns growing along their arched brows. I had seen a herd of them a few days ago, but not one this big. And definitely not one this fast.

"Run!" shouted Lara, breaking into a sprint and practically dragging Shay behind her. "Vee, run!"

I broke out of my trance and fled the stampede, following Lara as she ran as close to the gorge wall as possible. This tactic wouldn't work when the herd reached us. We would be crushed to death, just like the Gamemakers planned.

"Search for a way up!" Lara cried desperately, her head frantically snapping around. "There has to be one somewhere!"

I was the one who spotted it. A few meters in front of us, there was a break in the smooth gorge walls. It was very rocky and quite a climb, but we couldn't afford to be fussy in this situation.

"Over there!" I shouted, pointing to the spot I found. "This way!"

I sprinted over to the side of the gorge and flung myself onto a small, rocky outcrop. Just in time too, as the first of the beasts had started to gallop past us. They were so close; I could feel the wind the moving mass of bodies made as they ran.

"You first," ordered Lara, nodding at me. "Quickly, more are coming!"

Struggling, I found my first handhold in the rock and hauled myself up. Once I had reached a small ledge, I looked down to find Lara trying to lift Shay up. But she was too small. Her hands were about a foot short.

"I can't reach it!" she cried frantically, her hands waving in the air. "Vee, help!"

But I was stuck. As much as I tried, I couldn't get back down to help the little girl.

"I can't reach you," I shouted down. "Lara, you go first and pull her up after you."

Lara didn't need to be told twice. She quickly scrambled up the rock, holding her hand out to Shay who took it instantly, her big blue eyes wide with fear.

"Don't drop me," she whispered, her eyes starting to tear. "Please."

"I'll never drop you," Lara promised, pulling Shay up. "Don't worry. Like I said before, everything will be okay."

Trusting Lara to take care of Shay, I climbed higher up the side of the gorge. As I neared the top, I turned around to check on the other's progress. And then I saw her.

On the opposite side of the gorge, her long, blond hair blowing in the wind and an arrow already strung in her bow, was Sierra. Standing behind her were her brother Nic and the District 4 girl, Naomi. She smirked, her green eyes glinting, and let her arrow fly.

"Look out!" I cried. But it was too late.

The arrow hit the rock under Shay's feet, startling her and causing her to slip.

"Lara!" she cried, her feet dangling in the air. "Help!"

"Shay! I've got you! Don't let go of me!"

Sierra shot another arrow towards us, hitting Shay in the hand. The small girl screamed with pain and began to cry.

"Help Lara! Help!"

It was the hardest thing I'd ever had to watch. I was completely helpless where I was standing. I tried to get back down to Lara and Shay, but it was no use. I could only go up.

"Lara!"

Shay had another arrow in her hand. It was a miracle she was still holding on.

"Don't let go!"

And then it hit me. Sierra wasn't looking for a kill shot. All she wanted was for Shay to fall.

The thunder of the beast's hooves were so loud now. I could barely hear Shay's screams from below. But I knew they were there. Sierra was sending arrow after arrow into the poor girl's arm, crippling it beyond use. But still Lara would not let go of her. She was still tying to pull her to safety. Then Sierra changed her tactics. She shot an arrow into Lara's hand.

Lara cried out in pain, nearly dropping Shay.

"I won't let you go, Shay!" she shouted, more to Sierra then to Shay. "We're going to get through this!"

"Make it stop, Lara," pleased Shay, completely delusional from the pain on Sierra's arrows. "Please, make it stop."

"It will soon," she promised, tightening her grip in Shay's hand. "I promise."

Then Sierra sent another arrow flying into Lara's hand. This time, Lara did let go.

"No!" she cried as she felt her bloody hand slipping out of Shay's grip. "Shay!"

Shay screamed a heart wrenching, soul-piercing scream. And then she fell. Straight down the gorge and into the midst of the beasts below.

"Shay! Shay!"

Once the beasts had disappeared, a very distressed Lara all but jumped down the gorge to find the small twelve-year-old.

"Lara, wait! Sierra's still around!"

It was no use. Lara wouldn't listen to me. Not that it mattered anyway. Sierra was nowhere to be seen. She'd got what she wanted.

"Lara! Come back!" I shouted after her retreating figure, running as fast as I could once I reached the bottom of the gorge. "It's too late!"

"There wasn't a cannon!" Lara shouted back, her usually strong voice shaking. "She's still alive! Shay! Shay!"

Not matter how much I shouted at her, nothing would make Lara turn back. All I could do was run after her. Part of me wished the cannon would just go off already. There was no way Shay could survive that fall, even if she was just clinging onto life now. She was as good as dead.

"Shay!"

Lara's voice had changed from heartbroken to hopeful. I'd spotted her too, a small, curled up figure lying still on the dusty ground. Lara reached her before I did, sinking to her knees and cradling the child in her arms.

"Come one Shay," she whispered. "Wake up. Please, wake up."

As soon as I saw her body lying in that pool of blood, I immediately wished I hadn't looked. I had never seen anything as horrible as that in my life. Every bone in her tiny frame seemed to be broken, her arms and legs sticking out at odd, unnatural angles. I nearly vomited when I saw a chunk of bone sticking out of her badly hunched back. Even if, by some miracle, she survived this, she would never walk again. Only her large blue eyes were untouched, the only part of her deformed body that was recognisable as that sweet little girl who was reaped from District 10. Even her light brown hair had changed colour, stained red from the blood flowing from her crushed skull.

"Answer me Shay," pleaded Lara. "Please, just answer me."

Shay's eyes slowly focused on Lara's face.

"It doesn't hurt anymore, Lar," she whispered weakly, her eyes sliding back out of focus. "You kept your promise."

"You're going to be okay," Lara whispered back, hot tears spilling from her eyes and onto Shay's little face. "You're going to be okay."

Shay smiled slightly, blood leaking out of the corners of her mouth.

"I'm going to be fine," she whispered. "I'm going home. Up to my Father in Heaven."

Lara began to stroke her hair. "He'll be pleased to see you," she said softly. "Say hi to Him for me, okay?"

"I will. And I'll wait for you there. Come find me. Tell me how you won the Games."

Lara gave a shaky laugh and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'll fill you in on everything you've missed. I promise."

"Thank you."

Shay closed her tired eyes, her mouth pursed in a small smile. She lay there, enclosed in Lara's strong arms, her little chest rising and falling ever so slightly.

"_T-the Lord is my s-shepherd, I s-shall not want."_

I looked up in surprise to see Lara stroking Shay's mattered hair, tears running down her cheek as she spoke the shaky words to the blessing that Shay had said to the dying District 8 girl the day before.

"_He-he makes me lie down in g-green pastures, He l-leads me besides quiet w-waters."_

Lara's voice was barely a whisper, but she continued to speak.

"_He g-guides me in paths of right-righteousness for H-his name's sake."_

Trying not to cry myself, I walked up behind Lara. She looked up gratefully as I knelt down besides her and smiled slightly as we finished the psalm.

"_Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me."_

Shay's cannon went off. Lara looked at me, her eyes glistening with tears as I said the final words.

"_Your rod and staff, they comfort me."_

Fresh tears began to leak from Lara's eyes as she laid Shay's body on the ground. I only noticed that I was crying too when Lara crossed Shay's frail hands over her now still chest. Shay was gone, killed by the Capitol. I'd never felt so sick in my life. I'd watched children die in the Games every year, but it's never affected like this until now. How can people think this is okay?

"Goodbye, Shay," whispered Lara, kissing Shay's forehead softly. "Sleep well."

She wiped her eyes and stood up slowly.

"Let's go," she said, her voice expressionless as she walked passed me. "They can't have gone far."

It didn't take me long to realise what she wanted to do. She was going to hunt down the Career pack.

"Lara no," I said, startled. "That's suicide!"

The tall girl rounded on me, her dark eyes blazing.

"You just don't get it, do you?" she shouted, her eyes tearing again. "This was never about living!" She sunk to the ground. "We were all supposed to die together, Vee! We were meant to die together and without pain. It was supposed to be quick! Not like this!" She put her head in her hands and started to cry.

I went over to her and put an arm around her; my weak attempt at comfort. She just shrugged it off.

"Don't you see?" she asked weakly, lifting her dark eyes to make contact with mine. "It's not going to work now. _They _know, Vee. They know! And now they aren't going to let us get anywhere close to the edge! No, all I can do now is go back and kill Sierra. She looked up into the clear sky. Her wet face was probably projected all over Panem now. People were probably craning their necks, trying to get a better view of the crazy girl who tried to defy the Capitol.

"I hope you're all listening to me!" she shouted upwards, getting to her feet. "Can't you see what they're doing? They're taking children, _children_ with lives, families and futures, and forcing them to fight for your own amusement until only one of them is left alive. What is wrong with you?" She paused, panting. "Can't you see what's wrong with this?" Her tears had stopped now, her face hard and showing no emotion. "There's no need to come and kill me right now, Capitol. I'll be dead in a few hours anyway."

Then she walked away, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the silent gorge. There was nothing I could do to stop her. Lara was fixated on dying. She was going to find, and kill, Sierra. Even though I didn't want to, I knew I had to help her. I owed her that much.

So I just followed the sullen girl silently, up the side of the gorge again and towards the Career camp, just as the hovercraft appeared in the sky, ready to take Shay's broken body home to District 10.

**Lexus "Lexi" Annette Deryl, District 6 (15)**

"You guys ready for this?" I asked, leaning on my spear for support as I glanced at Vitz and Lee.

"No," shrugged Vitz, "but let's do this anyway. Now or never, I guess."

"I am so ready for this!" exclaimed Lee, waving his sword around. "Relax guys; we've got this."

Vitz and I exchanged looks, but remained silent. Part of me wanted to forget about attacking the Careers, but another part of me wanted to attack more than anything. Rebecca would say that it was my "fighter's instinct" and I would probably agree with her. My family often joke that I street-fight because I can't go for a week without beating up somebody else. I usually just laugh and brush off these comments, but not I'm starting to think that they're right. I did miss it. Well kind of.

Lee looked excited at the prospect of our showdown with the Careers. I guess that he hasn't really had much action out here yet and really wants the opportunity to show off his swordsmanship. He doesn't seem to be worried about the fact that we might lose. Not at all.

Vitz, on the other hand, was the opposite. He was acting strange (well, stranger than usual) and jumped at practically every sound. To be honest, it was quite amusing, even in the danger of the situation.

Looking at the reactions of both my allies just confused me more. I didn't really know what to think about the whole situation, until I remembered that it was my idea to go in the first place. These two boys (who were both three years older than me I might add) were following me. Me! Even though they were bigger and stronger, they looked to me for guidance. As self-centred as it sounds, I was the one calling the shots. And I liked it.

"The camp should be just over the next hill," I said, my confidence coming back. I turned to the others. "The element of surprise is on our side. If we kill quickly, we can take them all out."

"You talk about killing so naturally," said Vitz quietly, looking away. "You might have got the idea down, but I'm still struggling with the fact that I'm supposed to take someone else's life."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "We don't have a choice," I replied softly. "It's kill of be killed out here."

Lee grimaced. "And if it happens that we're the ones who are killed, I just want you both to know that I'm glad to have met both of you and that it was an honour to be able to compete in the Hunger Games along side you." He smiled.

"You too," I said, mirroring his smile. Then I turned grim once again. "But we're not dying today, got that? Now let's get going!"

I started to climb the hill, the two boys following close behind. There was no going back now.

We stuck to the bushes on the way down, getting closer towards the Cornucopia with every step that we took. We could see the Career's now; Nic and Naomi lounging on the ground while Sierra paced up and down in front of the dying fire. I couldn't see their expressions from where I was, but I could tell that Sierra was annoyed at something. Big surprise. When was she ever happy anyway?

"Stop," said Vitz suddenly, putting his arm across my chest. "Something's moving over there."

I squinted in the direction that he was pointing. "Is that...another tribute?"

It was. Striding confidently towards the other end of the Career's camp was the District 11 tribute, Lara, and the red-head from District 12, Vee. What the hell were they doing? Were they crazy?  
The Careers had spotted them too now. Nic and Naomi had gotten to their feet while Sierra stared at the two girls in disbelief.

"_What the-"_

Suddenly, Lara broke into a run, giving an angry cry as she hurled her spear with all her might at Sierra. It was dead on course.

I didn't know that a human being was capable of making the next sound that I heard slice through the arena. Its strangled notes were so full of pain that I just wanted to run as fast as I could in the opposite direction and never hear the noise again. It broke my heart.

Sierra was the one screaming, but it wasn't from any physical pain. The spear hadn't pierced her skin, but was instead buried deep into the chest of her brother. He was lying in the long grass in front of her feet, bloody slowly seeping from his wound and into the sand.

Nic had jumped in front of Lara's spear to save his sister.

_Boom!_

"_You bitch!"_ screamed Sierra, tears streaming down her face as she tore an arrow from her sheath and sent it flying at Lara. _"You bitch you bitch you bitch!"_

The arrow hit Lara in the neck and she crumpled backwards, sprawling out in the yellow grass. Her cannon went off, but Sierra wasn't finished yet. Grabbing another arrow and not even bothering to string it, she flew at Lara, shoving the arrow into her forehead.

"_You bitch you bitch you bitch you bitch," _she screamed as she stabbed the arrow into her skull over and over again. "_Die!" _

Lara's face was beyond recognition at this point, but Sierra continued to stab her, despite her being dead already. Tears ran down her cheeks onto Lara's mutilated face, mixing with the hot blood and making it drip even quicker. She didn't look like she was going to stop any time soon.

"_Get off of her!"_

Vee had joined the fight now, throwing herself at Sierra in an attempt to knock her off Lara. It succeeded and both girls went flying, landing a few feet away.

"_Wrong move, District 12," _snarled Sierra, thrusting Vee to the side and using her legs to pin down the smaller girl's arms. _"You're dead now."_

Sierra's fingers closed around Vee's throat. She kicked out at Sierra, fighting for air, but it was no use. Sierra's grip was too strong.

Nearby, Naomi was kneeling over Nic's motionless body, not believing what she was seeing. There was something small clutched between her shaking fingers, but I couldn't see it clearly from so far away.

"Screw this," muttered Vitz, stringing an arrow into the bow that we'd gotten from sponsors on our second day. "I'm not letting Sierra kill that girl."

He let the arrow fly.

It missed Sierra by a long way, but it surprised her and made her lose focus long enough for Vee to push the older girl off her and scramble to her feet. Sierra ignored Vee's getaway and looked up to where we were hiding. She smirked as she spotted us and reached for another arrow.

"Run!" I shouted, diving out from behind our bush and sprinting down the hill towards the Careers. "There are only two of them now. Let's go!"

I lunged to the left as Sierra sent her arrow at me, nearly losing my footing as I continued to run. Listing up my spear, I charged at Sierra, not even bothering to look behind me to see if the boys were following.

Sierra blocked me easily as I thrust the spear in her direction, casting aside her bow as she drew three knives from her pocket,

"This is going to be easy," she snarled, her green eyes glinting madly. "You won't get away this time."

"We'll see," I spat as I thrust my spear at her again. Sierra dodged easily and threw one of her knives at me. I felt it graze the side of my face as it passed, drawing warm blood that started to trickle quickly down my chin.

Sierra laughed crazily. "Oops, I missed." She stopped suddenly and glared at me. "I won't-ahhh!"

Lee had tackled her from the side, sending them both crashing to the ground. He held a bloody knife between his hands, most probably the one that Sierra had just thrown at me, and was aiming it at her face. The District 2 girl gave an angry cry as Lee brought the knife down, but managed to twist to the left at the very last second, avoiding the knife and causing Lee to stab it into the soil. His eyes widened in surprise as Sierra grinned manically at him and drew another knife from her belt.

"Goodbye, District 9."

She thrust the knife upwards, stabbing through Lee's lower jaw and into his skull. His cannon boomed and his lifeless body fell sideways into the already bloodied grass.

"No!" I shouted, pointing my spear towards Sierra as I made a move towards her. Instead, my spear was ripped from my grip and I found myself face to face with Naomi.

"Going somewhere, Lexi?" she asked sweetly, waving a knife in front of my face. "At this point, I highly doubt it."

"Vitz!" I shouted, my eyes darting around for my ally. "Help!"

But he couldn't help. He was already locked in a deadly battle with Sierra, who had grabbed Nic's fallen sword to try to kill Vitz. Luckily for him, he was pretty good with a sword too and they seemed evenly matched. Unlike Naomi and me, since she had a knife and I had nothing.

"Vee?"

My cry for help came a little too late. The District 12 girl was already running from the scene, her arms wrapped around her small body as if to keep herself safe. She stopped for a second as she heard me call her name and looked back, struggling internally about whether she should come back of not. Our tearful eyes met and she shook her head, sprinting away as if I'd never called her in the first place.

"Looks like it's just you and me," snarled Naomi, fingering her knife again. "What fun."

She advanced towards me, smiling coldly as she ran the knife over her hands. I retreated backwards, my back slamming into the cold egde of the golden Cornucopia. I was trapped.

I lifted up my hands into defensive position. "Don't come any closer," I said, not realising how lame that sounded until the words were out of my mouth. "I might not have a weapon but I can still take you!"

Naomi just laughed. "I'll believe that when I see it!"

She lunged forward, her knife pointing to my neck. She was a lot faster than I'd anticipated, and I only just managed to get out of the way in time. Naomi cursed as her blade made contact with the metallic Cornucopia, creating a loud ringing noise and throwing her slightly off balance. Seeing my opportunity, I spun around on the ball of my foot and lashed out, kicking her squarely in the chest and sending her stumbling backwards. She swore again and dropped her knife, but as I dived to pick it up, I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. I looked down to see the metal hilt of another knife.

"Do you honestly think that I'd be stupid enough to only carry on knife?" sneered Naomi, drawing yet another knife from her sleeve. "I'm not as dumb as you, Lexi. After all, you only had one weapon when you came down here."

I cried out as I ripped the knife from my shoulder and sent it flying at Naomi. White hot pain seared though my entire body, but I ingored it long enough to watch the District 4 girl block my knife with her own, smiling crazily.

"Stupid girl. Now you don't have any weapon."

She was right. I had nothing and, thanks to her knife, I could hardly move my left arm.

I sunk back against the Cornucopia, clutching my shoulder and trying to keep a brave face despite the pain. I'd always thought that I'd be able to handle pain well since I got hurt a lot street-fighting, but this was something else entirely.

I looked up at Naomi, expecting her to go in for the kill, when something to the right caught my eye. There was a flash of red, and then Naomi was on the floor.

"That's for Killian!" yelled Vee, kicking Naomi in the stomach. "And this one is for Lara!" She kicked her again. "And for Shay!" Another kick.

Vee looked absolutely crazy, but it didn't matter. She had come back, and she'd saved my life. She gave Naomi one last kick for good measure and darted away, just as Naomi reached out for her leg.

"You little bitch!" she screamed, gasping for air. "I'm going to kill you!"

I ingored the District 4 girl lying on the floor and looked around frantically for my ally. He was still occupied with Sierra and neither of them looked like they were going to back down any time soon. Luckily, Sierra's back was to me so she never saw me coming.

Scooping up one of the knives that Naomi had dropped, I flung it at Sierra. Unfortunately, my aim was a little off so the blade sunk into her leg instead of her back where I was aiming, but it was good enough. She let out a cry of pain as her legs buckled, falling to her knee and nearly dropping her sword. Vitz swung Lee's sword down at her head, but somehow she managed to block it and kicked out at him with her other leg. She missed, but Vitz had to take a few steps back to avoid her.

"Leave her!" I shouted, sprinting towards him. "Let's get out of here!"

Vitz didn't need to be told twice. Giving Sierra one last look, he bolted after me, grabbing another one of Naomi's fallen knives as he did so. His long legs enabled him to catch up to me quickly and then we ran together away from the Career's camp, back up towards the hill. I expected Sierra to send a few arrows after us, but nothing came. Looking back, I saw Sierra kneeling besides her brother's lifeless body, pulling out the spear with both her hands. Naomi hung back, looking unsure about whether she should join her or not.

I felt Vitz's hand on my arm and I faced forward again, bracing myself for the steep climb up the hill.

**Lance Wolff, District 4 (17)**

Capri and I sat side by side in the darkness, waiting for the Capitol anthem to start playing. Four cannons had gone off today, the highest number to have gone off yet. Only eight tributes were left in the Games. Eight out of twenty-four! I knew that I should be feeling happy that there are fewer tributes around to compete against, but I couldn't help the feeling of uneasiness that arose at the dropping number. It seemed like it was getting closer and closer to my time.

Capri leaned against my shoulder as the anthem started to play, the bright Capitol seal reflecting off her grim face. It was clear that she didn't like the dropping number any more than I did.

I heard her sharp intake of breath as the face of Nicolai Golding grinned down at us.

"Oh my God," I murmured, not believing what I was seeing. "Poor Sierra."

It was true that I didn't like Sierra much, but I still felt sorry for the loss of her brother. Nic was actually a decent human being and didn't deserve to die.

"I never knew him," Capri said quietly besides me. "What was he like?"

I smiled slightly. "He was actually a good guy," I replied, warming slightly from the memory. "You would have liked him. He was probably the bravest guy I know, and will ever have the honour of meeting."

"He came here for Sierra, right?" she asked, looking up at me.

I nodded. "Yeah. He wanted to make sure that she got out okay."

We grew quiet as the next face shun down at us. It was Lee from District 9.

"I didn't expect to see him tonight," said Capri, a hint of surprise in her sad voice. "He was so strong."

"So was Nic."

Capri shook her head as Shay's twelve-year-old face smiled down at us next.

"That's not fair," she muttered, looking away from the little girl's image. "She's just a child. How could they just kill her?"

"We're all just children, I guess," I replied, putting an arm around her shoulders. "They're killing us too."

The final face to be displayed in the shy was the one of the District 11 girl, Lara. She glared down at us from above, her eyes hard and accusing, as if she blamed us for her death.

"Remember her on our first day of training?" Capri asked, a small smile playing at her lips. "She refused Sierra's invitation to join the Careers. I have mad respect for her because of that."

I smiled too. "So do I," I agreed. "That takes guts."

The anthem ended and the sky grew dark again, casting us back into the shadows. Capri sighed and lay back in the long grass.

"So eight left, huh," she said, raising her eyebrows at me. "So there's us, Sierra and Naomi, and Lexi and Vitz. Who are the other two?"

"Maddie's still around somewhere," I said with a sigh, lying down besides Capri. "And Vee from District 12." I paused. "We're nearly there."

"Just two more deaths and it will be the final six."

"Oh wow, you can do maths-ow!" Capri had punched me in the arm.

"It's the family interviews, idiot," she said, sounding annoyed. "That's like the turning point for the whole Games."

"Oh yeah," I replied, nodding slightly as I remembered. "I wonder if they'll be visiting our families."

Capri grimaced. "I hope so." Then her expression softened and she laughed. "I just hope that my friends have something nice to say about me." She looked up at the sky. "You hear that, Harrison? Don't say something stupid. Otherwise I'll have to kill you when I get back!"

"I'm sure they'll only have good things to say about you," I said, chuckling. "After all, Linda, you're such a sweet, well-tempered, thoughtful young lady."

I was rewarded with another punch for my sarcasm.

"What about your friends and family?" she asked, rolling over on her side to face me. "I've told you so much about mine, yet I haven't heard a word about yours."

I sighed. "Well there really isn't much to tell," I explained. "There really aren't very many people who I could call 'friends'. They're really more of acquaintances that I hang out with from time to time than actual friends. I prefer spending time alone." I paused, glancing at Capri. Her expression was unreadable. "As for my family, I only have a father. My mother died when I was four years old."

"Is that where your token is from?" she asked suddenly. "That ring that I've seen you holding. Was it hers?"

I nodded. "Yeah. She gave it to me the day she died."

"I'm sorry."

"Nah it's okay," I said, sighing again. "It was a long time ago. I'm a bit upset that I'm going to disappoint her, but I'll be okay."

"What do you mean?"

I turned over on my side to face her, drawing the small ring from my pocket. "This ring has been in my family for generations," I explained, looking at the delicate silver ring on my leather chord. "My father gave it to my mother, just like his father gave to his mother and so on. It's tradition to give it to the one you love when you find them, but I'm probably going to die here now, so this ring will be lost forever. I'd have never given it to someone."

"You could give it to me."

Capri's voice was so quiet, barely a whisper, that I looked up in surprise to make sure that I'd heard her right.

"What?"

"I'm serious," she continued, her voice equally quiet. "In a few days, we could both be dead, so I might as well have it until then. Then you wouldn't have to disappoint you mother, because you'd have given the ring to someone." She paused. "I don't know if you care about me that much, but I know I care about you."

"I care about you too."

Capri's face broke into a grin. "And besides, just think about how much the Capitol will love it if you gave me a ring. We'd rope in some sponsors for sure!"

I sighed. "You sure know how to ruin a good moment, Linda."

I was expecting another punch from Capri, but none came. I turned to face her again, to find her staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You said that you cared about me," she said softly, smiling slightly. "Did you mean it?"

I laughed. "Of course."

Capri smiled and did the most surprising, un-Capri like thing. She reached up her hand and, pulling my face down to meet hers, kissed me.

I didn't care that the whole of the Capitol could see me. I didn't care that my father and my classmates from District 4 were all probably watching me right now. I didn't care that we were in the middle of the Hunger Games and that either of us could die at any second. I didn't even care that only one of us could go home. I was with Capri, and that's all that mattered.

**Wow, this is probably the longest chapter that I've ever written. Sorry for the length, but hopefully the quick update makes it worthwhile. Plus so many things happened in this chapter!**

**I'm sorry for killing Nic :( I know how many of you liked him, but it couldn't be avoided. So eight tributes left (Capri, Lance, Sierra, Naomi, Lexi, Vitz, Vee and Maddie). Who do you think is going to win?**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you'll leave me a review :)**


	31. Chapter 29: Lullaby

**Madeleine "Maddie" Michel, District 1 (12)**

I crept out of my rocky cave about an hour after sunrise, walking slowly down to the river below to fill up by forever-empty water bottle. I'd spent the last few days lying low, flying under the radar as my father would call it, waiting for the opportunity to execute my next move. And that that opportunity had arrived.

I'd heard the cannon sound four times yesterday. At first, I'd thought that I wasn't hearing right (maybe some dirt had gotten in my ear of something), but when I looked up into the sky that night and saw the faces of Nic, Lee, Lara and Shay, I knew it had to be true. As sad as I was that Nic had died, his death meant that there were only eight of us left in play, which meant that I had to come out of hiding and start winning.

To be honest, I hadn't really planned about how to win the Games before I volunteered. I was completely blinded by the fact that I would have the chance to revenge my mother's death by killing the son of the man who ordered it (AKA: Seni Gold), but now that the job had been done, I found that I really didn't have a plan after that. Luckily for me, hiding out for a few days really gives a girl time to think. And I'd come up with a great idea about how to win.

Even though I knew that I could take them in a fight, I wouldn't hunt down Sierra or Naomi for one simple reason. The girls, being Careers themselves, would be hunting down other tributes at the same time as I hunted them. Why would I kill them when they would be helping me by getting rid of the other tributes? No, I'd be going after the weakest of the outer-district kids first. Of course, I wouldn't want the final fight to be myself against Sierra or Naomi, so hopefully one of the other tributes manages to take them down before it comes to that. Lexi and Vitz might stand a chance going up against them, and Lance, who is technically a Career, is still somewhere out there too. And besides, even if they are killed by Sierra or Naomi, they'd probably have weakened them quite a bit which will make me killing them much easier.

Smiling slightly at my plan, I bent over the clear water and dipped my water bottle under the surface, enjoying the feeling of the cool liquid running over my hand. My smile quickly turned to a frown as a caught sight of my reflection.

My once golden curls were slick with grease; my fringe sticking to my forehead in the most unattractive way while the ends hung limply around my face. My heart-shaped face was streaked with soot from the small fire I'd made in the cramped confinements of my cave and my amber looked tired and heavy. I suppressed a small smile. I wonder what District 1 thinks about my appearance at the moment. I'm definitely not the little angelic girl they knew anymore.

Grimacing, I held up a piece of my lifeless hair. How much would I really miss it? Not much, I decided as I drew my small dagger from my belt. I might later, but for now it was just getting in the way and looking disgusting. Shallow, but true.

I took a deep breath and held the dagger to my hair. I made a slicing motion and felt the strands of hair fall limply into my hand. Without looking, I tossed them into the water and continued to cut. When I finally ran out of hair to cut, I looked down into the river again.

Once the rippled made from my falling hair had cleared, I could see my new reflection very clearly. The long hair I had treasured for most of my life was now gone and in its place was a new, cropped hair style ending a few inches about my shoulders. I smiled at my new edgy reflection and fingered a strand of my fringe. I wonder how I'd look without it...

"_Sierra, can we just stop for a second? I need to re-fill my bottle."_

I jumped at the sound of Naomi's whiny voice, nearly dropping my dagger into the river as I hastily scrambled up the side of the hill towards my cave. They were the two last people I wanted to see at that moment.

"_Just made it quick," _came Sierra's snappy reply from nearby. _"We need to move quickly if we want to catch that District 6 bitch and her ally."_

Ah so they were after Lexi and Vitz then. Rather them than me.

I peered out from behind a rock as Sierra and Naomi came into view. Sierra was in front, an expression that I couldn't quite place on face and her brother's sword's sheath hanging over her shoulders next to her bow and arrow. Naomi followed a few paces behind, looking annoyed as she reached into her bag for her water bottle.

"You know, Sierra," she said suddenly as her blue eyes narrowed into a slight frown. "I think we split up now. They're only eight tributes left now and I don't want to have to fight in the end."

Her voice sounded small, as if she was sad that she felt like it was time to split up from Sierra. The girls had been together since day one and, even though Sierra had found her annoying at first, had gotten along together quite well. Did Naomi consider them to be friends?

Sierra sighed. "I guess you're right," she replied, smiling sadly at Naomi. "I'm glad that we were allies though and it's a pity that we can't both win."

"I agree."

Naomi turned and, giving Sierra a small wave, started to walk off in the same direction that they'd come from. I looked back at Sierra to find her looking thoughtful. Suddenly, she reached behind her and grabbed an arrow out of her sheath.

"Wait, Naomi!" she called quickly, shrugging her bow off her shoulder and stringing the arrow as she spoke. "One more thing!"

Naomi turned, a hint of a smile on her face as she turned to face Sierra again. Her expression turned to horror as she saw the arrow pointed at her chest.

"Sierra, no!"

Sierra's face was expressionless as she let her arrow fly, watching it rip through Naomi's flesh with out showing any remorse. Naomi stumbled backwards, her blue eyes full of betrayal as she tried to steady herself and lift her spear. But by then it was already too late. Her cannon boomed and she crumpled over backwards, disappearing from sight as she sunk into the long yellow grass.

Sierra walked over to the body and, after giving it one last lingering glance, grabbed Naomi's fallen bag and started to walk again. I waited, still in shock from what I'd just witnessed, for a few minutes before I snuck down to Naomi's corpse when I was sure that Sierra was well and truly gone.

I looked down sadly at the dead girl. Even in death, Naomi was still beautiful. I didn't want to do what I was about to, but I was in desperate need of supplies and there was a small chance that Naomi might have been carrying some food on her person.

Grimacing slightly, I reached into one of her jacket pockets and felt a surge of hope as my hand closed around two irregularly shaped objects but, as I felt them further, I realised that they couldn't have been food. Even so, I drew them out of the pocket.

The first item was a woven necklace with a small seashell attached to it. This must have been her district token. Feeling even more like an intruder, I placed in back into her pocket. Her family would probably want it now.

I looked down to regard the second object. This one was a tiny, beautifully carved wooden cat, about two inches in length. I turned it over in my hand, wondering if she'd carved it herself or if it had been a girl from someone else. The small, scratched "NG" on the base answered my question.

I slid the wooden cat back into Naomi's pocket. Whoever "NG" was had probably given it to her as I gift, which gave me no right to keep it for myself even if I wanted to. Not like I had any right to go through a dead girl's pockets anyway, but I was desperate.

The rest of Naomi's pockets proved to be a disappointment. They were completely empty, apart from a long, thin knife tucked into her sleeve which I gratefully took. You could never have too many of those I guess.

Straightening up, I turned to look at the dead girl one last time. I never really liked her much when she was alive, but I still found it a little saddening now that she was dead. It was another reminder to me that I really just needed to get out of the arena as quickly as I could and, to do that, I would need to hunt down my first target.

Vee Clesta.

**Capri Arello, District 7 (17)**

"_Ring the bell that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering."_

Eyes still closed, I smiled as I heard the clear notes of Lance's lullaby break through the cool morning air. I'd spent the night sleeping in his arms as he sat propped up against a tree to take watch, and I could feel the vibrations from his chest against my back with every word he sang. I loved the feeling.

"_There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."_

That moment, sitting there will Lance, seemed so perfect, just like the moment we'd shared the previous night. The dangers of the arena were just forgotten and life in general seemed to be looking up, even though the truth was that we both could be killed at any second. But for now, I was too happy to think about any of those things. I couldn't even be angry at him for not waking me for my night-watch shift.

"_Across the sea and sky of blue, the light shines on and will always shine true."_

I opened my eyes into tiny slits and snuck a look at Lance, not wanting him to know that I was awake just yet. I knew that he would stop singing and make me get up, and I was enjoying the moment way too much to have it end so soon. Thankfully, he wasn't looking at me and was instead gazing out over the long grass with a thoughtful expression on his face. I wondered what he was thinking about.

"_There is a crack, a crack even in you. That's how the light gets in."_

I closed my eyes again, but Lance must have noticed the small smile that had spread over my face because he suddenly laughed softly and said, "So I see you're finally awake, Linda. How long were planning on pretending to be asleep?"

I gave him an annoyed look at the use of his nickname for me, but it instantly softened when I saw his handsome face smiling down at me.

"I was enjoying the song," I replied, stifling a yawn. "It's the one that you sang during your interview, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. My mother used to sing it to me every night before she died."

"It's beautiful. Could you teach it to me?"

Lance spent the next few minutes trying to teach me the lullaby. After a few seconds, it became clear that I didn't have that much musical talent, but he pressed on until I could sing it perfectly. Well, almost perfectly.

"So what should we do today?" Lance asked, tightening his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. "We could go for a walk and look for some of those lovely melons, or we could give hunting another try. Those bush buck can't out-run us forever!"

I raised my eyebrows. "You make it sound like we're planning a fun day out in the wild, not like we're in the middle of the Hunger Games."

"Well technically we are in the wild too," he chuckled in reply. "And besides, who says that we can't at least enjoy our time here while it lasts?"  
_Enjoy our time here while it lasts. _Lance's words were light-hearted, but they still chilled me. It was just another reminder that our days like this one weren't meant to continue. We were already living on borrowed time.

"I think we should go look for melons," I said, leaning back into his chest and closing my eyes. "Hunting those bush buck just make us look like idiots." I sighed. "But can we do it later? I'm really comfortable sitting right here."

"More like really lazy," he answered as he kissed the top of my head, "but alright. I guess a few more minutes won't hurt."

And they didn't. Lance held me close to his chest and began to hum his lullaby again; the musical vibrations resonating from his body and into mine and making me smile with pleasure. For the second time that morning, I forgot where we were. Time seemed to stop and Lance and I were the only people in the world. I would have given anything for that to be true, but since I knew moments like these would get rarer and rarer, I tilted my head to the side and, cupping his face in one hand, reached up and kissed him. He responded enthusiastically, slowing turning my body around until I was seated on his lap with my legs wrapped around his waist.

_Boom!_

We jumped and sprang apart at the sound of the cannon. I nearly fell over backwards, but Lance grabbed me around the waist at the last minute and pulled me towards him. He just looked at each other with wide eyes, both too surprised to speak.

"Who do you think it was?" I whispered, my heart beating quickly.

"I really hope it's Sierra," he replied darkly, his eyes not leaving mine. "I really, really hope it's Sierra."

I slapped his arm. "That's mean."

"Please Linda; don't pretend that you weren't thinking it too."

"Seriously," I said scowling, "call me 'Linda' one more time and I'm going to stop talking to you."

Lance reached up and tucked a loose strand of blond hair behind me ear. "Well I don't know about you," he said, grinning slightly, "but I can think of something we can do that doesn't require talking at all."

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help smiling. "Really now? And what is that?"

Lance just smiled and leaned in to kiss me again. I was about to meet him half way, but something over his shoulder caught my eye and I leaned away instead.

"What?" he asked, confused. "Is something wrong?"

"Shh," I whispered, craning my neck to look over Lance's shoulder and passed the tree that he was leaning against. "I thought I saw something."

Lance turned his head to stare behind him. "I don't see anything."

I shushed him again and continued to stare in the direction of the movement, by heart beating faster with every passing second. I could have sworn that I saw...

"There!" I hissed suddenly, pointing towards the think that I'd spotted. "Oh God Lance, it's another tribute."

I felt Lance stiffen underneath me.

"Get up," he hissed, quickly pushing me off his lap and getting to his feet. "It's Sierra."

My blood instantly ran cold. Sierra? Oh God, why her?

"Is she alone?" I whispered as I thought about Naomi. I tightened my grip on Lance's hand and he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah," he whispered in reply. "We need to get-"

Lance broke off as an arrow flew over his head and imbedded itself in a nearby tree. I cried out in shock and clung to Lance, shaking from fear. This was it. Sierra had seen us and now she was going to kill us.

"Run." Lance said, the fear obvious in his brown eyes. "Take the spear and go. I'll keep her busy."

He gave me a push, but I held my ground.

"Are you crazy?" I gasped, not believing what I was hearing. "Quit trying to be a hero and just start running! We can both get away if we're fast enough."

I grabbed his hand again and started to pull him, but he didn't budge. I turned around to find him staring at me, an odd expression on his face. It made me want to cry.

"We can't get away," he said gently, squeezing my hand again. "She will catch us eventually and kill us both."

I sniffed. "That's not true," I said stubbornly. "We can run faster than her."

I desperately wanted it to be true; more than anything else in the world. But I knew it was not. Lance would be able to get away if he was alone, but I would only slow him down and we both knew it. He was willing to fight Sierra while I escaped, but how could he possibly think that I'd ever abandon him like this?

"I'm not leaving you."

Lance chuckled slightly. "Now you're the crazy one," he said, smiling slightly. "Don't worry about me, Linda." I smiled at my nickname, feeling a little assured by his use of it. "If it makes you feel better, I'll take the spear. You just run, okay?"

"I don't want to leave you," I whispered, tears starting to leak from the corners of my eyes. "Please Lance, just run with me."

He just smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry about me," he said softly, placing his hands on my shoulders. "I'll see you in a little bit, okay?"

"Okay."

He gave me one last quick kiss before pushing me away again. "Off you go. I'll catch up once Sierra is gone."

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand as another arrow shot past us and I looked up at Lance. His body language was relaxed, but his eyes looked worried. I looked away quickly, because I knew that if I continued to look at him, I'd want to stay and fight Sierra, even though I knew that I'd just get in his way and possibly get him killed. That's what made up my mind in the end.

"I'll see you soon," I said quietly, giving his land a last squeeze. "Be safe."

"You too."

I glanced upwards to see him smiling down at me, his eyes wet. Feeling new tears forming in my own, I tore my gaze away and started to run. I looked back over my shoulder to see Lance watching me. Then, he turned away to face Sierra, who was coming down the hill behind him.

I heard the cannon a few minutes later.

**Sierra Golding, District 2 (16)**

This must be what it's like to be in shock. I was cold all over, but yet I seemed to be sweating from every pore in my body, making my hands clammy and causing them to slip around my bow every time I tried to get a better hold of it. My rapid, shallow breathing came in short gasps from my pained chest and was probably the cause of my light-headedness. Every step made me want to throw up, but I kept it down because I was afraid that if I started I would never stop. I wasn't going to let them see me cry.

I knew that Nic was going to die from the moment he was reaped, but nothing could have prepared me for what it would feel like when he actually did. I must have been pushing the idea of him dying out of my mind this whole time because, now that he was dead, all the memories of moments with him came flooding back into my brain and sent it into over-drive. I hated knowing that there would be no more moments like those.

Even though I would never admit it to anyone else, I wished that I had spent more time with my brother. I didn't realise just how much I cared for him until he died. He was never supposed to enter the Hunger Games. The only reason my father trained him was to be my sparring partner. Things would have been better if he'd just sent me to the Career Academy, but then again, he might have sent Nic there too and the chances were that he would be chosen as a tribute because there's no denying it that he had serious skill.

I never asked for him to save me. I don't want to die, but I still didn't want him to die for me. I know that I want to win, but right now I feel like I should be dead in his place. Nic had always been a better person than me. He deserved to win more that I did.

I didn't feel guilty about killing Naomi. Nic would probably be disappointed in me if he was here, but he's not and that's the problem. I need to win for him, but more than that, I just want to go home. Four weeks in the arena has really taken its toll on me and I was ready to leave. Killing Naomi was just the first step to getting me out of here and back to District 2. Killing Lance and his little girlfriend would be the next one.

Even with my blurred vision, I could see the couple sitting against a tree as I made my way over the hill behind them. Their happiness made me feel sick. How dare they be happy when I'd just lost the one thing most important to me. I wanted them to suffer.

Unfortunately, the District 7 girl saw me creeping towards them and warned Lance that I was coming. I couldn't see the expressions on their faces, but I hoped it was fear as I fired my first arrow. My hands were shaking so much that I missed them completely, but my aim would improve as I got closer. I sent another arrow in their direction, and watched with interest as Lance grabbed Capri by the shoulders and started speaking to her very quickly. I don't know what he said but, whatever it was, it made her turn and run. But not before she gave him one last kiss. So she really was his girlfriend then. Good, now she would know the feeling that comes from losing someone close to you. Pity that she wouldn't be around to see it.

An image of a spear piercing Nic through the chest flashed across my vision, but I shook the thoughts out of my mind as I sent a third arrow flying towards Lance. This time, I only just missed.

"Hello Lance," I said as I reached him, another arrow already strung in my bow. "It's sure been a while. So this is where you've been all this time. Hiding out with that little District 7 bitch."

A look of anger crossed Lance's face, but he spoke calmly. "Don't talk about her that way," he said, his voice clear. "And yes, though it looks like I'm not hiding anymore."

I smirked. "No, you're not." I paused slightly. "But she is, isn't she? You sent your little girlfriend away. Oh how sweet, you're trying to save her." I laughed. "Stupid boy. Don't you know that I'm just going to kill her later. I wonder how pretty you'll find the little blond when she doesn't have any eyes."

"You won't touch her," Lance replied, his voice shaking as he lifted his spear. "I won't let you."

I laughed again. "You're such an idiot, Lance. Do you really think that you can beat me? You're not even a volunteer. Are you even trained for the Games?"

Lance's breathing was heavy now and I could see that he was starting to sweat. In a second, the answer to my question became obvious.

"Just leave her out of this, Sierra," he said quietly. "I know that you're angry about Nic-"

"-Don't you dare bring him into this!" I snapped, pulling my arrow back. "This has nothing to do with my brother."

Lance's eyes narrowed at the sight of my bow. "You could at least fight me fairly, Sierra," he said in the same calm voice he'd used before. "Or are you afraid that I'll beat you without your bow?"

"Not at all," I said, glaring at him. I knew that he was trying to buy Capri some more time to get away, but I didn't care. If he wanted to suffer, than I'd make sure he did.

I smiled meanly at him and tossed my bow aside, already reaching behind me for Nic's sword. I was secretly glad that I'd get a chance to use it, because killing with it would feel a little bit like avenging his death. Lance had lifted his spear too, a challenging expression on his face as if he was daring me to attack first. I did.

The edge of my sword clashed loudly with the metal end of his spear and, somehow, he managed to push me backwards. His strength was a surprise, but nothing I couldn't handle. Nic had been strong too.

I spun around on the ball of my foot, lashing out with my sword again towards Lance's side. He blocked me easily with the spear and struck out a well aimed kick in my direction, barely missing my stomach. I glared at him and attacked again.

I had clearly underestimated Lance's skill level, but that wasn't going to stop me from beating him. I could almost hear Nic's voice in my ear as I thrust my sword towards Lance again, telling me where to aim it and where would be the best places to weaken him. It was almost like one of our lessons.

I cried out as something sharp sank into my upper arm. Looking down in horror, I noticed a small knife sticking out of the flesh just below my shoulder. I ripped it out easily, as it wasn't very deep, but I quickly learned that the purpose of the knife wasn't to harm me. It was to distract me.

Lance was running towards me, his spear aimed at my chest. My eyes widened in shock as I blocked him, but his momentum was too much for both of us and he slammed into me, sending us both crashing down into the long grass, Lance landing on top of me. I quickly flipped us over, so that I was now sitting on his chest with my sword pointing towards his neck. I made a slicing motion, but I only hit Lance's spear. I glared down at him as I saw him grasping it in both hands, pushing it hard against the blade of my sword. He was a lot stronger than I anticipated, even with the blood from the knife wound on my arm dripping into his face.

Watching my blood run into his eyes gave me an idea. Holding my sword in one hand, I swept up some dirt from the ground besides us with the other and threw it into his face. He roared with pain, but not before throwing me over his shoulders with a last burst of strength. I landed hard on my injured arm, causing the wound to stretch and more blood to start leaking out. I bit my lip to prevent me crying out from the pain as I quickly scrambled to my feet, ready to face Lance again.

His eyes were tearing from the effort to get the sand out of them and he was breathing hard, clutching his spear so tightly in his hands that his knuckles were turning white. I didn't think he could last for much longer, but the determined look in his eyes made me think twice. As I learned yesterday, there's nothing a person won't do to protect the one they care about.

Lance was still wiping the dirt off of his face as he came towards me again. But this time, his movements were slower. He was tiring.

I parried his blow with my sword and struck out again, quickly changing my aim from his chest to his upper-leg. I smiled in satisfaction as I felt the blade sink into his flesh, and his cry of pain just made my smile widen. I had him now.

Lance stumbled and fell to his knee, desperately trying to support his weight on his un-injured leg. Trying, but failing. He pressed his hand to his wound, his petty attempt to stop the bleeding, but the gash was too deep. He was losing blood fast.

I pointed my sword towards his neck, a small smile on my face. "Now this position looks familiar," I said with mock thoughtfulness. "It looks just like the ones the Peacekeepers make the District 2 prisoners kneel in before their execution. How fitting."

I spun the sword around in my hands and, looking straight into Lance's wide eyes, thrust it downward and into the back of his neck. The cannon blast was almost immediate, yet I kept on pushing the blade deeper and deeper into the already dead boy's body. Only when I felt the warm blood running over my hands did I pull it out and, not even bothering to wipe it clean, slid it back into its sheath. What would be the point of cleaning it anyway? It was just going to be dirty again in the next few hours when I caught up to the girl from District 6.

**I'm terribly sorry for the long wait. I'm on holiday at the moment and have been busy with general holiday stuff. The real world has been more exciting at the moment, but I'll try to have this story finished before I have to go back to school. With only 5 more deaths before the victor, it really can't be that long to go, right? I certainly hope so!**

**Sorry if this chapter isn't up to standard. I just really wanted to update. Also, I'm not sure if I should continue writing those family POV death chapters. I find a lot of them as tedious as the reapings. What do you think? Should I continue? Let me know :)**

**Thanks for reading and please review! I would really really really like to get to 500 by the end of this story! And after you review, could you please do me a massive favour? My awesome friend Tata10 is starting her own SYOT and really needs some tributes. I received some really good tributes for my sequel story, so I know you all are super creative. So could you please send some tributes to her? Please? **


	32. Chapter 30: Family

**AN: You are not dreaming. This is an actual update! Before you read, I would just like to say how sorry I am for leaving this for so long. Life has been too busy at the moment…So this is the first part of the family interview and Districts 1, 2 and 6 are included. Districts 7 and 12 will be in my next update in a few days time (as I'm nearly finished with it…). I just really wanted to update to show you all that I'm still here and haven't abandoned this story. Once I start something, I finish it.**

**Aristos** Charis, official interviewer for the 49th Hunger Games, took another sip of his sweetened wine as he looked over the six remaining tributes' profiles from his comfortable seat in the hovercraft, trying his best to ignore the small winks that one of the Capitolite reporters was giving him from across the cabin.

_Do her eyes not get tired? _he thought in annoyance, resisting the urge to look up. _This is seriously the last time I agree to share a ride with the press._

Sighing slightly, he turned his attention back to the papers before him. For the first time in the history of his job, he was interviewing six district families instead of the usual eight, a feat only to have happened once before in the seventh Hunger Games. A volcano erupted during the final ten, killing six in the blast while another two suffocated from the fumes. Aristos grimaced as he remembered. That certainly was a boring year.

_Ah, I've gotten distracted again! _

Shaking the thoughts of the seventh Games out of his mind, Aristos looked back down at the crisp while pile of papers on the small coffee table. The name "Madeleine Michel" was printed in bold letters across the top of the first sheet and, taking another sip of wine, he bent his head and started to read.

_**MADELEINE MICHEL**_

_**Age: **__12_

_**District: **__1_

_**Appearance: Hair: **__Blond_

_** Eyes: **__Brown_

_** Build: **__Slight_

_** Height: **__4'7_

_** Weight: **__88 lbs_

_**Kills to date: One**__ (Seni Gold, D1M) *IMPORTANT! District partner_

_**Family/friends to interview: **__Diesel Michel (Father) *IMPORTANT! Victor of 24__th__ HG_

_**Topics of interest: **_

_Youngest volunteer_

_Highest training score_

_Killed district partner (WHY)_

Draining his glass, Aristos put the pile of papers aside and leaned back in his chair. Little Maddie Michel certainly was an interesting character, probably the most interesting that he'd had the pleasure of noticing for a long, long time. In fact, she was probably one of the most interesting tributes to ever enter the Hunger Games. There certainly was an air of mystery surrounding that young girl.

The District 1 air was hot and sticky as Aristos stepped out of the hovercraft and onto the busy main street. He immediately reached up to adjust his signature dark blue wig, already feeling the small beads of sweat forming beneath it. This was going to be a long day.

"Good morning District 1!" he boomed, plastering a smile onto his face as he turned to face the cheering crowds. "And what a beautiful morning it is!"

In reality, Aristos thought the morning to be painfully hot, but he wasn't about to tell his loving audience that. Besides, you had to tell a few little white lies in his job anyway.

"I am so excited to be back here!" he continued, making his way towards the stage that had been set up in the middle of Town Square. "It seems like just yesterday that I was interviewing Ribbon's family!"

A cheer went up from the crowd at the mention of last year's victor and Aristos grinned, ever happy to please the crowd. He glanced around, trying to find Ribbon's face, but the 19-year-old was nowhere to be seen.

_Strange, _Aristos thought, adjusting his sweaty wig again, _I wonder where he is. He always seemed the type to love the spotlight._

Brushing the thoughts of Ribbon's absence out of his mind, he walked up the wooden steps and onto the stage. The cheering crowd quietened as he took his seat and leaned towards the microphone.

"Firstly," he said, his voice grave. "I'd like to offer my condolences to the family and friends of Seni Gold." A small hiss could be heard among members of the crowd. "It's not usual for anyone to kill their district partner, but in these Games it happened twice, though for entirely different reasons. Reasons that we aren't even sure about." He paused, his eyes darting towards the stage's wings. "But here is someone who can possibly help us understand! Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Diesel Michel to the stage!"

The crowd, forgetting their initial anger at the circumstances of Seni's death, went crazy with applause to accompany their best loved victor to the stage.

Diesel Michel was a large man in his early forties, having won the 24th Hunger Games as a 17-year-old volunteer twenty-five years previously. At first glance, it looked obvious that Maddie's appearance favoured her mothers, but upon closer inspection you can see that she and her father share the same eyes. Eyes that appeared to be narrowed slightly with worry. But if Diesel was actually worried about his only child, the rest of his body-language didn't show it. He strode confidently onto the stage, shook Aristos' hand vigorously and then leaned back into the arm chair that had been brought up for him, looking utterly relaxed.

"Diesel!" cried Aristos in greeting, grasping his upper-arm tightly. "It is magical to see you again! I can't believe how much time has passed since I interviewed you here during your victory tour. And I believe that it's the 25th anniversary of your victory too. How fitting!"

"It's lovely to see you again too, Aristos," Diesel replied, his deep voice commanding attention from the now-silent crowd. "It has been far too long."

"Much too long," Aristos agreed, nodding as the crowd voiced their approval. "But I guess having a child does that to you. They're a big responsibility."

Diesel nodded. "Yes, Maddie does take up quite a lot of my time. I haven't been able to mentor since she was born, but now that the odds seem to be in her favour, it would be nice to get back into it once she gets home. It could be something that we can do together."

The crowd cheered, but Aristos held up a hand to silence them. He wasn't finished quite yet.

"You seem very confident that your daughter is coming home," he observed, glancing sideways at Diesel. "Aren't you worried that another tribute, maybe Sierra Golding, could destroy her chances of winning?"

"As a father, I'm always going to have to deal with that fear," he answered smoothly. "But I still feel confident in Maddie's abilities. She's a strong girl."

"That she is," Aristos whistled. "That became apparent as soon as she scored an eleven on the Gamemakers' test! Diesel, as her father, do you have any idea what she might have shown them?"

Diesel shook his head. "I actually have no idea," he admitted, gazing out over the crowd. "I made sure that Maddie was trained in a variety of things, but there isn't actually anything that stands out as a special weapon, or a special ability. We would have to ask Maddie herself that question when she gets back."

The crowd cheered again, loving Diesel's confidence in his daughter. This time, Aristos let them scream, but they died down quickly enough to hear his next question.

"So by the sound of it," continued Aristos, "you must have not known that Maddie was planning on volunteering until the reaping."

"Yes, that's right," Diesel replied, sighing slightly while he shook his head. "Believe me; I was just as shocked as any of you to hear my little girl volunteering for the Hunger Games. I'd have rather have her wait a few years, but I guess it couldn't be helped."

"Do you think she volunteered because she wanted to kill Seni Gold? It was no secret that he was planning on volunteering."

The crowd was dead silent, no one daring to breathe in case they missed Diesel's response. Either that, or that they were just surprised by how direct Aristos' question was. It seemed to come out of nowhere.

Diesel just sighed. "One could jump to those conclusions because of the circumstances of the boy's death. From an outsider's point of view, the death did look planned." He paused. "However, no one can really what Maddie was thinking at the time. I trust that she has her reasons."

"But you must have some suspicions regarding the matter. Your daughter has made a few enemies by slaying her district partner in that manner. Don't you feel that they need an explanation?"

Diesel sighed again. "I do have a small idea of what might have been going on in my daughter's head," he said gravely, watching the crowd again. "But you must remember that she's only twelve, so things that don't make sense to us might make perfect sense to her."

Aristos nodded in agreement. "Yes, of course."

"A few years ago," he started, looking directly at Aristos, "my wife, and Maddie's mother, was murdered in the garden on our home. Maddie witnessed the entire thing."

Some members of the crowd made small noises of surprised, but the majority remained silent. They were too engrossed in the story.

"Maddie has always believed that Silken Gold, our head Peacekeeper and Seni's father was behind the killing, but of course, there was never any proof of it. Remember, Maddie is just a child and things seem to get blown way out of proportion by children, especially when they've been through a trauma like my daughter." He paused again, supressing another sigh. "I believe that Maddie could have volunteered for some sort of revenge for her mother." He chuckled slightly. "Well either that or she couldn't wait to be a victor like her father!"

He got a few short laughs for his closing statement, but, again, most of the crowd remained silent, still trying to process what they just heard.

Aristos just looked grim. "Well either way, we're all wishing Maddie the best of luck and may the odds be ever in her favour."

Diesel inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Thank you, Aristos. It was a pleasure being interviewed by you once more.

**Blair **Torrington stood with her back against the wooden edge of the stage, arms crossed and looking out of the wings towards the audience with a scowl on her face. As much as she loved days like these where she got to be important, there was still a bitter taste in the back of her mouth when she thought about the reason for the day's events. Stupid Sierra Golding.

Blair's frown deepened as she thought about Sierra. The two were supposed to be friends but, for her entire life, Blair had felt like she was living under Sierra's tall blond shadow, despite the fact that she was the mayor's daughter. Everything just seemed to come so easily for her, while Blair actually had to work hard to keep her social standing and making sure none of the other girls under her belt stepped out of line.

_Speaking of which, _she though, brushing another strand of brown hair off her face, _where is that damn Foster with my head-band!_

"Blair!"

Blair looked up, away from the audience, to see a girl with curly, dark-brown hair running towards her. Foster Bell might have been a whole year younger than her, but she was already a head taller, which is saying something since Blair wasn't short to begin with. One might say that she had real potential to be a model in the Capitol, but of course Blair already knew this and would never allow that to happen. She couldn't have another of her "friends" out-shining her like Sierra did, could she? No, Foster was going to stay in District 2 and be there for her every beck and call.

"Finally," Blair sighed, holding out her hand for her blue head-band, "hand it over."

"I'm sorry that it took so long, Blair," Foster said breathlessly. "The lady at the shop couldn't find the exact one you wanted."

"I put it on hold a week ago," she snapped in reply, hastily pushing the head-band over her perfectly shiny hair. "Did you tell her that?"

"Yes, of course, but-"

"-well then there shouldn't have been a problem," Blair cut across her, glaring again.

"Yes, no, I mean-"

"-Oh just shut up. Aristos Charis is going to be here any minute and I can't appear to be flustered."

"Okay-"

"-I said quiet!"

Foster fell silent, knowing all too well that there was no arguing with Blair when she was in one of her moods. She knew that she shouldn't be taking all of this from the older girl, but right now she didn't really have a choice. The last girl who dared to defy her had to move to District 3 overnight. They said it was because her dad was going over-see some electrical design programme, but everyone knew that Blair was really behind it all. Besides, there were actually some perks to being favoured by Blair. Other girls who weren't in with her wanted to be you and no one gave you any trouble. Foster knew that she could never be the type of friend Sierra was to her, but if Sierra never came home maybe Blair would start looking for a replacement in her. Now that would just be an added bonus to Sierra dying in the Games.

"Aristos!"

Foster snapped back to reality at Blair's delighted cry and, glancing in the direction that Blair was smiling in, caught sight of the famous Aristos Charis in his signature blue wig. The same blue, she noted, as Blair's new head-band. Truth be told, Foster actually felt a little star struck as he made his way towards them, but she wasn't going to let Blair see that. She couldn't see any sign of weakness.

"Blair Torrington!" Aristos exclaimed, sounding equally delighted as he kissed her on both cheeks. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since the last victory tour. You're looking as pretty as always. Love the head-band by the way."

"You flatter me so," Blair replied sweetly, switching to her innocent girl person that she brings out around adults. "You must be very happy to be back in District 2. Hopefully you'll be back soon with my best friend on her victory tour."

"I would like nothing more," Aristos replied, grasping her hands and beaming. "And let me offer my condolences about Nicolai. You must have known him quite well because of Sierra."

"It is a shame about him," Blair agreed, a sad look crossing her pretty face, "but I had been preparing myself for his death ever since the reaping. It was inevitable after all."

"He will be missed," Aristos replied solemnly. "But let's not dwell on the sad things in life! Why don't you introduce me to your charming friend over here?"

"Oh of course, this is Foster Bell," said Blair, switching to a smile again. "Another friend of Sierra who has been keeping me company through this difficult time of my life."

"Nice to meet you," Foster said quickly, shaking Aristos' out-stretched hand.

"The pleasure is all mine," he said smoothly. "Since you're a friend of Miss Sierra, will I be interviewing you today too?"

"Oh, Foster gets terrible stage fright," Blair cut in before Foster could reply. "She could throw up, and that would be horrible for us all, right Foster?"

Foster just nodded. Even though she didn't have a shy bone in her body, it was better if she didn't disagree with Blair.

"That's a pity," said Aristos. "Maybe another time then."

"Aristos," Blair said, drawing the attention back to herself again. "Do you have a list of Sierra's kills that I could take a look at? They've been so many; I think I've forgotten about some of them."

"Of course, of course," he replied with a grin, drawing a stack of papers out of his bag. "Sierra's details should be on the top. Just make it quick because I can already hear your father starting to introduce me."

Blair thanked him and took the papers, not even minding that Foster was reading over her shoulder.

_**SIERRA GOLDING**_

_**Age: **__16_

_**District: **__2_

_**Appearance: Hair: **__Blond_

_** Eyes: **__Green_

_** Build: **__Athletic_

_** Height: **__5'4_

_** Weight: **__126 lbs_

_**Kills to date: Nine **__(Cordin Bleu, D3M *BLOODBATH)_

_ (Seeder Rein, D11M *BLOODBATH)_

_ (Zachary Swift, D5M)_

_ (Angela Hopeful Winters, D8F)_

_ (Shay Allerisa, D10F *INDIRECTLY)_

_ (Lara Anders, D11F)_

_ (Barley Maple, D9M)_

_ (Naomi Sakura, D4F)_

_ (Lance Wolff, D4M) _

_**Family/friends to interview: **__Mason Golding (Father) *IMPORTANT! Victor of 21__st__ HG_

_ Yenelle Golding (Mother)_

_ Blair Torrington (Friend to Sierra and Nicolai Golding) _

_**Topics of interest: **_

_Most kills_

_Death of Nicolai Golding (D2M - brother)_

"I'm glad to see that my name is on the list of people to interview," Blair observed, handing the papers back to Aristos. "I would be quite insulted if it wasn't."

"Oh Blair, who could ever forget a beauty like you?"

Blair just smiled.

"Well that's my cue," Aristos continued, taking a step backward. "Blair, I'll see you in a little bit. Lovely to meet you, Foster."

With that, Aristos turned and bounded out onto the stage to thunderous applause. Blair and Foster followed slowly behind, stopping just behind the winds to watch Mr and Mrs Golding walk up the steps on the side of the stage to take their seats. She would have to wait until after their interview until her turn.

Foster turned to Blair. "You didn't tell him about Nic. Shouldn't that be important?"

Blair scowled again. "Not at all. Nic and I were long over by the time of the reaping. He was dead to me even before he actually died."

"Blair, we both know that's not true."

Blair rounded on her, eyes flashing. "And who are you to say that it's not?" she hissed angrily. "Fine, I loved Nic, but he never felt the same way about me. He told me that he never could."

"I'm sorry."

"What are you apologising for?" Blair demanded. "It's not your fault that Nic wasn't in love with me. It's not your fault that he didn't want anything to do with me after we broke up. I don't need pity, especially not from you!"

Usually a remark like that would have upset Foster and made her lash out in return, but she bit her tongue. She knew that Blair was in a sensitive place at the moment and starting a fight wouldn't be in any of their best interests. No, she needed Blair as her friend. For now, that is.

"They're calling me," Blair said briskly, turning away from Foster and towards the stage. "This conversation never happened."

Not even waiting for an answer, Blair marched away, plastering huge smile onto her face as she walked out onto the stage to the cheers of the crowd. She waved at them politely, in quite an elegant manner, and then sat down on the chair opposite Aristos, folding her one leg neatly over the other. She looked completely comfortable, as if her argument with Foster had never happened.

"So Blair," Aristos started the two finished exchanging their greetings, "you consider yourself to be Sierra's best friend. Is that correct?"

"It's really hard not to," gushed Blair, flashing Aristos a huge smile to accompany her answer. "I mean, Sierra and I have known each other since even before we started school together. My daddy, the mayor, knew her dad very well because of his victor status. They were always coming to parties at house."

"So that means that you must have known Nicolai well too."

A hint of a shadow crossed Blair's face, but she just smiled sweetly and ignored the feelings that came up whenever Nic was mentioned.

"Of course. He followed his sister around most of the time like a lost puppy. It was rather sad really."

Aristos frowned. "So I take it that you weren't very fond of Nic then?"

"We got along alright," Blair replied, shrugging, "but in the last few months leading up to his reaping we drifted apart a bit." She paused. "But I thought this interview was about Sierra, not her dead brother."

"Ouch, harsh," joked Aristos, trying to make light of Blair's snappy response. "But you're completely right! So let's get back to Sierra then! You must have noticed that your dear friend has the most kills out of everyone else in the arena, by far! Tell us, did you expect this result?"

"Oh yes," she answered, flipping her glossy hair over her shoulder as she smiled, "Sierra has always been a bit of an over-achiever, and probably the most competitive person I know too! Anyone who knows her at all would know that she wouldn't settle for anything less than that."

"What has been your favourite kill of hers so far?"

Blair frowned in thought. "That's a tough question," she replied, still looking thoughtful. "It's a tie between Naomi and Lance from District 4. Lance because he was a moron for hooking up with a girl in the arena and because, let's face it, it was a pretty awesome fight, and Naomi because she was practically stabbed in the back. It's such a typical Sierra thing to do."

"The Naomi kill sure was something," Aristos agreed, "but I didn't expect it at all, so I guess I found it interesting for an entirely different reason to you. So stabbing people in the back is a "Sierra-like thing" to do? Have you ever been a victim of this?"

Blair rolled her perfectly out-lines brown eyes. "As if. Sierra's my best friend remember? Sierra tends to backstab people that are generally disposable. Unlike me, of course."

"Of course, of course," Aristos agreed, nodding. "But let's talk about you for a moment though. You're sixteen now, right? Are you planning on volunteering in the near future?"

Blair beamed, happy that the topic had changed from Sierra to herself so quickly. Just how she liked things.

"Yes, for the 51st Games actually. My daddy wants to be to eighteen before I volunteer, and I don't fancy the idea of volunteering for the Quell. The twist could be something truly terrible! I'd rather not take that risk."

"You're a smart girl, Blair," replied Aristos gravely. "I wouldn't want to volunteer for the Quarter Quell either!" He gave Blair one last smile and then turned to the audience. "Well that's all the time we have for this interview!" he cried, waving at the audience. "District 2, you have been a pleasure as always, and stay tuned to your TV! I'll be interviewing the families and friends of the two District 6 tributes later today!"

"**Bru**, have you seen Rebecca? I can't find her anywhere!"

Twelve-year-old Brunella looked up from the book she was reading, her eyes narrowed at her brother.

"You lost her _again_?" she hissed angrily, snapping her book shut with a load clap. "Seriously? You had one job, Aston!"

Aston scowled. "You would have thought that at sixteen she'd be able to look after herself," he replied "and stop talking about her like she's a dog or something. You know that she's in a bad place at the moment."

Brunella rolled her blue eyes. "Aren't we all," she muttered, going back to her book. "Look, you'd better find her before Aristos finished interviewing Corolla or else we'll all get into trouble."

"Yes, _Mom_."

Aston stomped away before Brunella could reply to his sarcastic response, wondering just when his little sister had started to act like the elder in their relationship. She really had grown up a lot since Lexi went away to the Games, even if most of her reactions were typically childish. She was going to be a difficult teenager.

He finally spotted Rebecca standing at the edge of the wings, watching the interview taking place on the stage. From the back, his cousin looked just like she always did; a beautifully curved figure with soft, wavy brown hair, but if she had to turn around, the desperate look in her once-pretty blue eyes would become apparent; the only indication that she was hurting inside.

Sighing, Aston started to walk towards her, but he stopped halfway as he stepped on something and it stuck to the bottom of his shoe. Frowning, he lifted his foot and plucked off the small piece of paper stuck firmly in place, reading it instantly.

_**VITZ MORALS**_

_**Age: **__18_

_**District: **__6_

_**Appearance: Hair: **__Red_

_** Eyes: **__Blue_

_** Build: **__Athletic_

_** Height: **__5'10_

_** Weight: **__158 lbs_

_**Kills to date: None**_

_**Family/friends to interview: **__ Corolla Carpel (girlfriend- mother of his child, Celica)_

_**Topics of interest: **_

_Both District 6 tributes are alive with no kills_

_Daughter (Celica)_

_Only male tribute still alive_

_**LEXUS ANNETTE DERYL**_

_**Age: **__15_

_**District: **__6_

_**Appearance: Hair: **__Brown_

_** Eyes: **__Blue_

_** Build: **__Athletic_

_** Height: **__5'4_

_** Weight: **__130 lbs_

_**Kills to date: None**_

_**Family/friends to interview: **__Rebecca Deryl (cousin-originally reaped)_

_ Aston Deryl (brother)_

_ Brunella Deryl (sister)_

_ Shelby Deryl (cousin)_

_**Topics of interest: **_

_Volunteered for her cousin (must interview!)_

"_Anti-career" alliance_

Aston felt a surge of pride as he remembered his sister and her district partner's antics in the arena. They both managed to get to the final six, out-lasting the other three members of their alliance, without killing anyone else in the process. It also made him smile to think that his twin sister was the one leading a movement against the infamous career-pack, and he still felt proud of that fact even though it didn't work. Hopefully it would pave the way for future tributes.

"There you are," he said as he reached Rebecca, trying his best to sound cheerful. "Brunella and I were wondering where you'd got to."

Rebecca gave him a sad smile in reply and continued to watch the interview taking place on stage where Aristos was in the middle of chatting to Corolla about her new daughter, Celica.

"So how old is the little darling then?" he asked her, smiling down at the tiny bundle in Corolla's arms.

"Just over a week old," the new mother said proudly, her sweet smile lighting up her face. "She's an angel actually; already sleeping through the night."

"I'm sure her father is thinking of her every day," replied Aristos, patting her arm sympathetically, "and he's trying his best to get back home to the two of you."

"It's so sad," Rebecca said suddenly, her quiet voice barely audible. "For Lexi to come back home, Vitz has to die and leave his family all alone. It isn't right."

Aston put an arm around her shoulders. "I know," he said softly, resting his head on hers. "None of this is."

Rebecca turned to him, her blue eyes frantic and shining with tears. "I can't do this," she said desperately, her eyes widening. "Please, Aston, don't make me do this!"

"Shhhhhhh," he replied soothingly, holding her tighter as he recognised the warning signs of one of her fit start to show, "don't worry, Becca. You don't have to do this today."

"Thank you," she mumbled into his shoulder, sniffing. "I don't want to do this."

"I know."

Aston felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned his head slightly to see his other cousin, Shelby, standing behind him with a concerned look on her face.

_Is she okay? _ she mouthed, nodding towards Rebecca as she sobbed in Aston's arms. He shook his head.

"Hey, Rebecca," Shelby said soothingly, slipping her arm around the small of her back and steering her away from Aston, "let me take you home."

Rebecca didn't complain and allowed herself to be lead away, but Aston said, "Wait, are you sure? Our interview is about to start."

"Don't worry about it," was her dismissive reply as she walked away. "Aristos won't miss us. It's more important to interview the actual siblings anyway. We cousins are just a formality."

Before Aston could reply, Shelby gave a small wave and escorted Rebecca through the wings and down the side of the stage. She was still crying.

"Is she okay?" asked Brunella, suddenly appearing at his side.

He sighed. "I honestly don't know anymore," he replied, looking back out onto the stage where Corolla was shaking hands with Aristos. "It looks like they're finished. You ready for this?"

"No, but let's do this anyway."

"_District 6, please welcome Lexi's family members; Aston, Brunella, Rebecca and Shelby Deryl!"_

The polite applause of the district accompanied the siblings on stage. Brunella waved at them excitedly, but Aston blatantly ignored them as he shook Aristos' hand and sat down in the chair provided for him.

"My, you two are only half of who I introduced!" exclaimed Aristos. "What happened to the other two?"

"Rebecca was feeling ill, so Shelby took her home," Aston replied. "Looks like it's just Brunella and me today."

"Not a problem!" cried Aristos, now shaking Brunella's hand vigorously. "You two will do just fine! So Rebecca is the cousin that was originally reaped, am I right?"

Aston nodded. "Yeah, unlike Lexi, Becca really isn't much of a fighter and would probably have died in the bloodbath. Lex knew this and that's why she volunteered. She doesn't like to see her loved ones in danger."

"She was so brave to take her place," said Aristos gravely. "We really don't get many volunteers from the outer districts."

"Probably because they know that they're going to die."

Aristos looked slightly taken aback at Aston's last comment, but chose to ignore it and quickly regained composure. He turned away from him and started to talk to Brunella instead.

"So you must be Brunella then," he said cheerily.

Brunella nodded, a huge grin on her face. "Yip, that's me!"

Aristos smiled kindly at her. "So Brunella, you must be pretty proud of your big sister for making it this far! How do you feel about her antics in the arena?"

"I'm super proud of Lexi," replied Brunella, her face glowing when she spoke about her sister. "I mean, I always knew she would get this far, so the main thing I'm proud about is how she tried to get those tributes together to take out the Careers. Even though it didn't work, I believe that the idea will remain alive for future tributes."

"Well said!" boomed Aristos as the crowd gathered around the stage cheered at Lexi's plan. "It sure was fascinating, wasn't it? And a great idea too! I won't be surprised at all if new tributes borrow this idea of hers in the future." He paused, looking for a way to bring the quiet Aston into the conversation. "So Aston," he continued, turning his attention to the 15-year-old, "why do you think Lexi's plan failed like it did?"

Aston sighed. "Honestly, Aristos," he answered, "I think my sister left it too late. I think it might have worked better the first time they tried to launch their attack, well if Evelyn Jenkins hadn't been caught in that trap, of course. Lexi really had no choice but to abandon the attack and tend to her ally. She's always been that way."

Aristos nodded sympathetically as he remembered Evelyn's fate. "And a fine trait it is to have." He paused again. "To keep matters here serious, how has your family been coping with Lexi gone? After research was done for this interview, it became clear that there aren't any adult figures in your household."

"It's been difficult," said Aston, looking sad. "Coping has always been difficult for our family, but things are very different now without Lexi. I just hope that she wins, not for all the money our family will get, but just for her to come back to us. At this stage, that's more important."

Aristos wiped a fake tear from his eyes. "Touching. You sound like you have a very close family. So I won't keep you from them any longer!" He stood up. "District 6, that concludes our interview for today! I know that you're very proud of your tributes and I hope that the odds will be ever in their favour! Good night everybody!"

**Thanks for reading and I hope you all review. As hard as it is fitting writing into my life at the moment, I really am trying to finish this story. Your reviews will show me that you're still there and want me to continue writing this. I love writing, but I don't want to feel like I'm wasting my time posting this when I should be studying. So please, review? Thanks and you're awesome for reading this **


	33. Chapter 31: Friends

**Harrison **Crawford stood behind his twin sister, reading the small slip of paper that Aristos Charis had handed her over her shoulder.

_**CAPRI ARELLO**_

_**Age: **__17_

_**District: **__6_

_**Appearance: Hair: **__Blond_

_** Eyes: **__Blue_

_** Build: **__Slender_

_** Height: **__5'4_

_** Weight: **__120 lbs_

_**Kills to date: None**_

_**Family/friends to interview: **__Lucius Arello (father)_

_ Axel Arello (brother)_

_ Mabel Arello (sister)_

_Harrison Crawford (close friend)_

_ Jennie Crawford (close friend)_

_**Topics of interest: **_

_Relationship with Lance Wolff (D4M- deceased)_

_Fairly safe time in the arena_

"I wouldn't call any time in the arena 'fairly safe'," he muttered into Jennie's ear, receiving a sharp elbow in the stomach as a response. He glowered at her as she thanked Aristos and gave back the information sheet, shaking his hand one last time before he walked away to greet Capri's father and siblings.

Harrison felt a small pang of guilt when he thought of Capri in the arena, a pang that quickly grew into a feeling of total helplessness. Every time he thought about her, he remembered how his own sister had volunteered to take her place and how he didn't let her. There was no denying it that Jennie would have had a better chance at winning than Capri, but he couldn't just let her willingly go to her death like that. Not even for Capri.

He thought that his guilt would consume him entirely as he watched the chariot rides with his family on their small TV screen, dreading the moment when the camera would be on Capri, but he found he couldn't take his eyes off her as she stood proudly in her chariot, looking stunning in her dark brown dress. She stood with such dignity, such defiance, that he knew that, unlike him, she hadn't given up on her life just yet.

He didn't want to watch the interviews, but Jennie had forced him to sit beside her on the couch and refused to listen to any of his excuses. He remembered how his heart lurched as the line of tributes walked out to take their seats on the stage and he caught sight of his best friend in her strapless, royal blue dress. She was wearing the dignified expression on her face again and he found that he couldn't take his eyes off her. As much as he hated that she was in the Hunger Games, he felt proud that he knew that beautiful, brave girl on the stage. He actually laughed as Capri's outburst as her name was called; when she shouted to the District 1 boy to stop whistling at her. She might be going into the Games, but Capri was still Capri.

As soon as the gong went off to signal the start of the bloodbath, Harrison grabbed his sister's hand and didn't let it go until the cannons signalled its end. This bloodbath was the most memorable bloodbath he'd ever witnessed, and not just because Capri was taking part in it. The female tribute from District 9 died even before it started by dropping her district token, a little wooden ball, off her plate and detonating the land mines surrounding it. Then the 13-year-old from District 8 screamed as the gong went off, startling everyone so much that she was able to get a large head-start and clear the area before the other tributes could register what happened. And it was also the first time he noticed Lance Wolff.

He couldn't help feeling a little jealous of Lance's relationship with Capri, even though Lance saved her life twice; once by sparing her in the bloodbath and then again when he took on Sierra while she escaped and died in the process. He owed him so much. But while he watched their relationship develop, there was this nagging in the back of his head wondering what it would be like if he was with Capri instead.

"Harry?"

Shaking the thoughts of Capri out of his head, Harrison turned to face his sister.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay? You look a bit shaken. Not getting stage-fright are you?"

Harrison grinned at his sister's teasing. "Not a chance," he laughed, punching her lightly on the arm. "You're the one who should be getting stage-fright! Remember that little incident in our fourth grade play?"

Jennie glowered. "I thought we agreed never to speak of it again."

Harrison chuckled. "But how could I ever let something as great as that go?" He hastily changed the subject as he caught sight of his sister's expression. "Another time then," he said quickly. "Looks like we're about to go on stage."

Sure enough, Aristos Charis was shaking the hands of Capri's family before escorting them to the edge of the stage where they descended without them. He smiled broadly and addressed the crowd again.

"We're almost done here, folks, but before I head off to District 12, let's hear a word from two of Capri's closest friends! Ladies and Gents, Harrison and Jennie Crawford!"

Jennie plastered on a smile and strode out onto the stage, Harrison following gingerly behind her. The twins briefly shook hands with Aristos before sitting down to begin the interview. Aristos seemed eager to begin because he didn't waste time with formalities and dove right into the substance.

"So, Jennie," he said, turning his head slightly to face her. "The whole of the Capitol is talking about how you bravely volunteered for Capri, but she wouldn't let you take her place. What was going through your head at that moment?"

Jennie sighed. "Honestly, Aristos, I'm not sure myself." She paused slightly, looking over the silent crowd before receiving a reassuring smile from her brother. "I knew that I would have a better chance at survival than her, as undermining as that sounds. I'm known here for being athletic and, well, Capri isn't so I thought that I should go in her place because I would have a good chance of coming home again. But Harry wouldn't let me."

"I could never let my sister volunteer for the Hunger Games," Harrison cut in, leaning slightly forward towards Aristos. "She might think she's all that, but those Careers are pretty hard core. I wouldn't want her to get into a fight with one of them."

Jennie gave him a look, but Aristos didn't seem to notice and continued to talk.

"And speaking of Careers," he said, facing both twins again. "Looks like Capri managed to befriend one of them."

Jennie smirked. "Well I wouldn't exactly call that a friendship," she said, trying not to roll eyes, "but it's still something." She smiled. "As pretty as she is, Capri has never had a real boyfriend before. I wouldn't call Lance a boyfriend, but it looked like she cared about him a lot."

"What a tragic love story!" cried Aristos, throwing up his hands. "Two so young, so beautiful, yet doomed to die."

"Capri is not going to die!" Harrison said suddenly, causing both Jennie and Aristos to jump. "She's made it this far. She has to come back!"

Jennie shot a questioning look at her brother as Aristos chuckled.

"I'm glad to see someone has such great faith in Capri." He looked over the crowd. "District 7, you have been a wonderful host today! Let's see if Capri will come home like her wonderful friends predict!"

**Aristos** sighed as the cold District 12 wind blew against his face as he stepped out of the hovercraft and onto the grimy street.

_Finally, _he thought, glancing around, _my last stop before heading home. A nice, warm bath would be very welcome round about now._

Aristos couldn't remember the last time that he was in District 12. Most of half-starved tributes died in the bloodbath, and the few lucky enough to survive the first day are picked off soon enough. In fact, the last time he was in District 12 was when he was interviewing the family and friends of the district's only victor, Fay Choate, over ten years previously. Honestly, not much had changed since then.

Aristos busied himself with reading the final tribute from while he waited for his escort to Town Square to arrive. Who knew how long that would take…This was District 12 after all.

_**VEE CLESTA**_

_**Age: **__15_

_**Appearance: Hair: **__Red_

_** Eyes: **__Grey_

_** Build: **__Small_

_** Height: **__5'2_

_** Weight: **__119 lbs_

_**Kills to date: **__One (Killian Tragster, District 12)_

_**Family/friends to interview: **__Benjamin Clesta (father)_

_ Torii Clesta (sister)_

_Morda Tonks (close friend)_

_ Haymitch Abernathy (close friend)_

_**Topics of interest: **_

_Fire where district partner died_

_Ex-ally, Shay Allerisa's (D10F), death in gorge_

_Ex-ally, Lara Ander's (D11F), attack on Careers. (thoughts on brave re-entry)_

This under-fed Seam girl had definitely been one of the biggest surprises in these particular Games, and that is really saying a lot. Aristos couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the girl when he thought back on her experiences in the arena. She definitely had the hardest time.

The first incident happened even before the gong went off. The little girl from District 9 managed to blow herself up on her metal plate, splattering the two tributes on either side of her with bits of her bloody, mangled body. Vee had been one of those tributes.

She got her first experience of betrayal in the bloodbath when she tried to call her district partner to join her, but he turned and ran off in the opposite direction because he saw Seni Gold from District 1 coming up behind her. He didn't even warn her. Still, Vee forgave him and tried to save him from dying of dehydration later in the Games, supposedly keeping a promise she made to her little sister. Unfortunately, the Careers found them and a fire started up, trapping the tributes and killing Killian, Vee's district partner. Actually, now that he thought back on it, Aristos remembered that Vee had been trying to lead him to safety, but the boy tripped and fell which causes Vee to let go of him. She kept on running and didn't look back. Did she feel guilty about leaving him to die? Does she blame herself for his death?

Vee herself nearly died in that fire, but was saved by District 11's Lara Anders and District 10's Shay Allerisa, though this alliance was short-lived. Aristos shuddered as he remembered the gorge scene. Usually he was all for blood and gore, but watching angel-faced Shay fall to her death among a stampede of wildebeests was one of the most horrific things he had ever witnessed in the Hunger Games. And of course, Vee had witnessed the whole thing first hand. She and Lara had sat with the dying child through her final moments before her cannon went off. Further thinking proved that this wasn't the first time that Vee had been with a younger tribute as they died. She had also come across Angela from District 8 leaning against a tree with two arrows embedded in her stomach. It must have been so difficult to try to comfort the two girls even though she knew that they were dying and nothing could be done about it.

Her last scarring experience was when Lara went on a wild rampage after Shay's death; attacking the Careers in a hopeless suicide mission. Vee witnessed Lara take down Nic, but then she also witnessed Sierra's revenge as she shot her through the chest and completely mutilated the dead girl's face with a spare arrow.

Aristos sighed. Where was Vee now? What was she feeling? What was going on inside her head?

"_Murderer."_

The sharp hiss from a passing boy interrupted him from his thoughts. Surprised, Aristos turned to look behind him and caught sight of a blond-haired boy ducking away into a nearby ally. There was a distinct pattern in the way he walked that reminded him of the late Killian Tragster, but maybe he was just being paranoid.

"Aristos! Lovely to see you again, old chap!"

Snapping to attention, Aristos turned to great Mayor Reivin, his escort to Town Square. Even though it had been over a decade since he last visited District 12, he found that the elderly mayor still looked exactly the same as the day they met. Though his snow-white hair was thinner, his face still held its round shape and his small, watery blue eyes still gave off its usual kind impression.

"Mayor Reivin," Aristos replied graciously, smiling broadly at the old man. "A pleasure as always. It sure has been a while since I've visited District 12."

The mayor smiled. "We haven't had such a grand occasion in years! Now come, the people await! I haven't seen District 12 so excited since Fay won her Games!"

"And how is Fay doing nowadays?" Aristos asked as they began walking. "I haven't seen her since that unfortunate incident last November."

Mayor Reivin sighed. "I'm afraid Fay hasn't been quite herself lately. I was h hoping that having a strong contender like Vee this year would perk her up, but I fear it might have had the opposite effect. She was actually ordered home by some Capitol doctors last week for some bed rest. Her position as been filled by District 10's Erin McCarty for the rest of the Games."

"That certainly isn't good," replied Aristos, stating the obvious. "I hope she's feeling better soon."

"As do I."

"They're been out there for ages," grumbled Haymitch, glowering through the gap in the curtains in the back of the stage. "How many questions can there seriously be for Vee's family. Don't they know that all the good stuff will come from her friends?"

Morda sighed and pulled her friends backwards by his collar away from the curtains.

"Get away from there or someone will see you," she snapped, rolling her eyes as Haymitch pushed her away in protest. "They haven't even been out there for ten minutes yet! It's times like this when I wish that Seamus was getting interviewed with me and not you. You're so bloody impatient!"

"Sorry, sweetheart," Haymitch replied with a grin, "looks like you're stuck with me today."

Morda ignored his comment.

"Imagine if we were in the Hunger Games," she said suddenly, turning towards Haymitch. "Would we even make it to the family interview stage?"

Haymitch scoffed. "Well I don't know about you, sweetheart, but I could definitely win the whole thing! Those stupid Careers would have nothing on me!"

Morda punched his arm playfully. "Oh please, you'd be the first to go in the bloodbath."

"Yeah you're probably right," he replied with a shrug. "We District 12 kids don't even have half a chance." He paused. "But we really shouldn't joke about this kind of thing. Karma might decide to screw with us and get one of us reaped for the next Games, and I really don't fancy the idea of participating in the Quarter Quell."

"I wonder what the twist will be this year," Morda said thoughtfully. "Knowing the Capitol it will probably be something truly horrible."

"Definitely fire," Haymitch replied quickly, snapping his fingers. "I can totally imagine this hellish place with lava and volcanoes and shit."

"Or maybe they'll go in the complete opposite direction and make it like a heaven," Morda added. "Like green meadows, sparkling blue water and lots of little fluffy animals running around."

"That are secretly man-eating monsters," Haymitch muttered. "That's all very well, but not exactly a twist. It's the big five-oh after all."

"Maybe it will all be underwater," suggested a new voice behind them. "Then all the tributes can have mermaid tails and tridents like in District 4."

Haymitch and Morda turned to see two blond girls, identical in every way, standing just behind them. The Donnor twins were well known around the district, but had only started talking to Haymitch and his friends after Vee was reaped. It had actually happened by complete chance, because the merchant kids never really interacted with the Seam kids outside of school, and even in school it was only when they had no other choice. Maysilee Donnor was in Vee's class at school and was actually quite friendly with the red-haired tribute, always pairing up on projects and sometimes even walking home together. During the Games, May came to the Seam's most popular bar looking for her sister who was dating the older brother of Killian Tragster, the other District 12 tribute. She didn't find her sister, but Vee and Killian were both being shown on screen so she decided to stay and watch for a bit, sitting down at a table with the only other people she knew; Vee's friends. They hit it off almost immediately. Not so much with her sister though. The other Donner twin didn't really want anything to do with them and probably only came to the interviews because her sister forced her into it.

"May," said one of the blond girls, turning to the other which had to be Maysilee, "I'm going outside. Come find me when you're finished here." Without even acknowledging the others, she turned on her heel and left, her blond head held high.

"Charming that one," said Haymitch sarcastically, nodding after her retreating figure. "Now I understand what she sees in Trek Tragster."

Maysilee smothered a smile. "She's just in a bad mood today because she heard a rumour that Trek hooked up with Rachel Green last night." She sighed. "But even if it's true, that won't be enough to make her break up with that loser." She paused. "So anyway, how are you two? Feeling nervous at all?"

Haymitch grinned. "Not at all. This interview is going to be easy!"

"I'm feeling a little bit shaky," admitted Morda, crossing her arms over her chest. "Crowds really aren't my thing."

"Well you'd better hope that I don't get reaped next year," joked Haymitch, going back to their previous topic of discussion. "Then you'd have to go through this interview process all over again!"

Maysilee shot him a disapproving look. "It really isn't something to joke about," she said seriously. "The whole thing actually terrifies me. I sometimes even have nightmares about being reaped. It's my worst fear."

Haymitch put a comforting hand on her arm. "Don't worry about it, May. The odds of you being reaped are tiny. You have more of a chance of alien abduction than being reaped."

Maysilee gave him a small smile and said, "Thanks, Haymitch. Knowing that I could be abducted by aliens really makes me feel better." She laughed. "I should really go now. You're going to be called any minute. Good luck!"

She gave Haymitch and Morda a quick hug each before scampering away, no doubt to find her sister. Haymitch watched her go, but quickly turned away as he caught Morda looking at him through narrowed eyes.

"'_Don't worry about it, May,'"_ She quoted, her voice condescending. "_'The odds of you being reaped are tiny.' _God, how obvious can you get?"

"What?" Haymitch asked innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You _like _her."

Haymitch shrugged. "So what if I do? Do you blame me? She's hot."

Morda rolled her eyes. "You guys are all the same," she muttered. "Look, if you're going to like Maysilee, at least like her for her personality and not her looks."

"Well if you compare her to her sister, her personality is definitely a winner."

Morda just laughed.

"_Ladies and gents, you've heard from the family, but what about the friends? I'll bet they know even more about our darling tribute! Please welcome Morda Tonks and Haymitch Abernathy!"_

"Looks like we're up," said Haymitch, linking arms with his friend as he started to walk. "Let's go put on a show!"

District 12 was surprisingly cheery as they applauded Haymitch and Morda onto the stage. The whole town seemed to have come out of hiding for the day to show their support for Vee, the only District 12 tribute to have made it this far into the Games since Fay's victory over ten years ago. Haymitch scanned the crowd for Maysilee, and finally saw her standing near the back, smiling up at them while obviously trying to ignore her sister's argument with an angry Trek Tragster. She caught his eyes and winked, before rolling it towards the fighting couple as if to say, _"You see what I have to deal with every day."_

"Welcome, welcome Haymitch and Morda," Aristos said happily as the pair reached his, holding out his hand for them to shake in turn. "Please, have a seat. As I'm sure you've already guessed, I have lots of questions for you."

Haymitch and Morda said their greetings and took their seats, waiting for the crowd to hush before starting their interview.

"Let's get started then," said Aristos with a grin. "So you two would consider yourselves to be Vee's closest friends, am I right?"

"Yes," replied Morda. "Us and our other friend Seamus who unfortunately couldn't be here today. He's caught a nasty stomach bug."

"That's a real shame," said Aristos, looking as though he really couldn't care less. "But we're here to talk about Vee. So, I'm sure we can all agree that her time in the arena has been far from easy and she's probably had to overcome the most difficulty this time so far, except for maybe Sierra and the loss of her brother. Do you have any comments on the subject?"

"I'm surprised she hasn't cracked yet," Haymitch said honestly, wincing as Morda slapped his arm. "She's seen so much death and heartache so far. It must be having some sort of an effect on her. I'm actually surprised that we haven't seen much of her crazy side yet. After witnessing her mother's death, she went a little nuts."

"Haymitch!" cried Morda, appalled. "There are some things that we just don't tell people." She turned to Aristos. "Sorry about that, my friend here doesn't know when to shut up."

"Don't worry about it," replied Aristos, brushing off her comment and turning back to Haymitch. "So, Haymitch, you said she witnessed her mother's death? Care to elaborate?"

"Vee's house burnt down a few years back," explained Haymitch, a serious note to his voice. "She and her mother were trapped upstairs. Vee was obviously trying to get to her, but couldn't for some unknown reason. She was carried screaming from the house while her mother was left there to burn to death. She's always had a deep fear of fire since that day."

"Ah so that would explain her reaction to the fire in the arena," said Aristos thoughtfully. "I thought it was surprising that she abandoned the boy she'd tried so hard to save, but it all makes sense knowing about her past."

"_That bitch killed my baby brother!"_

The crowd let out a confused gasp as they turned as one to face the back, where Trek Tragster was standing with his arms crossed and glaring at the stage.

"I hope she burns in hell!" he shouted, ignoring the attempts to calm him down. "She sure deserves is. Hell, you all deserve it! All you Capitol scum who think you can just come here into our home and take away our family! How would you like it if we took your siblings or your children off to the slaughter? –Get your fucking hands off me!"

A peacekeeper had grabbed Trek's arm and was pulling him away from the crowd. He tried to struggle, but was quickly hit over the head and went limp. The crowd watched in silence as he was dragged away, Maysilee holding her sister back to stop her from following. She wouldn't be welcome where they were going.

"Well that certainly was interesting," said Aristos, trying his best to plaster a smile onto his shocked face. "Why don't we move on from that topic then?" He paused to smile at the audience, reassuring them that the disturbance wasn't really a big deal. "So after the fire, Vee was rescued by Lara Anders from District 11 and Shay Allerisa from District 10. Now that was an interesting alliance to watch! There are three main points that I'd like to bring across for this alliance. Morda, I'd like to start with the death of District 8's Angela Hopeful Winters. Do you remember how Vee and the others came across her leaning against a tree with Sierra's arrows sticking out of her stomach?"

Morda nodded. "How could I forget? That memory still haunts me."

"Is Vee a religious person?"

"Not really," she replied with a small shrug. "But I know that she was moved by the way Shay prayed for Angela. It truly was beautiful."

"We were all moved," agreed Aristos, but not as moved as we were when Lara and Vee said the very same prayer while Shay was dying."

"That was the most terrible thing I've ever seen," said Haymitch quietly, glancing sideways at Morda. "Not the prayer, I mean the whole incident. Apart from maybe Braxton's death right at the beginning, this was the most horrific one yet. I don't think it was entirely necessary to show the whole thing on camera."

"It's the Hunger Games, Haymitch," said Aristos seriously. "Sometimes bad things like that happen and we have no choice but to broadcast them." He smiled suddenly and was quickly back to his usual cheery self. "But let's not dwell on that! Why don't we talk about our favourite Vee moments! There's no doubt which mine is. Morda, what was yours?"

"Well Aristos," Morda answered, her face also breaking into a smile, "my favourite would definitely have to be that day when Lara led that attack on the Careers. Vee initially ran away after Lara was killed, but then came back and saved Lexi by totally owning Naomi! I had never seen her so badass before! That's how I know that she's going to win."

"It was pretty great," agreed Haymitch, smiling slightly at the memory. "I always knew Vee had it in her and now I can truly say that my best friend has faced a Career and lived. I'm never going to let her forget that when she comes home."

Aristos laughed. "I love how you two are so confident about your friend," he said, grinning. "I wish there was a way for her to see how much she's love her friends back home have for her." Giving Haymitch and Morda one last smile, he stood up and addressed the crowd. "District 12, it was been a pleasure being here today. Thanks for being such a great audience and don't forget to tune back into the Hunger Games later where there will be a full recap on everything that went on while the interviews were taking place. Only six tributes left folks! Our victor is only days away!"

**I don't know about you guys, but I'm very excited to announce my victor! On a more serious note, this means that five more characters have to die first…these last few chapters are going to be difficult for all of us because I (like most of you) have grown attached to these characters and their deaths are going to be difficult. There will definitely be a death in the next chapter (maybe two depending on how fast the story develops) and some of you aren't going to be happy about it at all, but I've decided on my victor and I'm sticking to it. I just hope that I can do the remaining characters justice in their final moments.**

**Oh and I'm also sorry that Capri's part was so much shorter than Vee's. I like writing about cannon characters sometimes so I really wanted to have a nice, lengthy segment with Haymitch and Maysilee. The only favouritism I'm showing there is towards those two :P**

**Thanks for reading this chapter and I hope you'll take the time to review **** Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far.**


	34. Chapter 32: Beast

**Maddeleine "Maddie" Michel, District 1 (12)**

"_Three children sliding on ice,_

_Upon a summer's day;_

_It so fell out, they all fell in_

_And the rest they ran away."_

I ran my fingers through my newly cropped hair, grimacing as I pulled out yet another leaf. I'd thought that cutting off my long blond curls would make my time in the arena a little bit easier, but it turns out that it really didn't. Was I just looking for something to blame my troubles on?

"_Now, had these children been at home,  
Or sliding on dry ground,  
Ten thousand pounds to one penny  
They had not all been drowned."_

Still singing, I paused next to a large, thorny bush and, squinting through the afternoon sun, reached up and plucked a single strand of dark red hair from one of the long thorns. I smiled with satisfaction. I'd spent the past three days tracking Vee Clesta through the undergrowth and now I was finally catching up with her. The District 12 girl wouldn't know what hit her when I finally caught up.

"_Your parents that have children dear," _I sang as I began to walk again, my high voice growing more confident now that I knew that I was getting closer to my goal. _"And eke you that have none. If you would have them safe abroad, pray keep them safe at home."_

I let the last note of the song ring out over the long grass before lapsing into silence again. I didn't know where I learned that song, or where it came from for that matter, but I knew that it had always been a popular song with the children of District 1, despite its depressing lyrics. I giggled at the thought. The lyrics seemed very appropriate now.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

I grinned as I recognised the familiar sound of a sponsor's parachute and, sure enough, I quickly caught sight of it falling gracefully towards me through the clear sky. It was a comforting thought that people out there still cared about me. Actually, it was a comforting thought knowing that people were out there at all. Being in the arena for so long really made me forget that the outside world even existed and instead it was as if I was living in a little bubble. The downside of this, of course, was that everyone on the outside could track my every move while I was stuck inside not knowing a thing. It made me want to get out even more.

A gust of wind (probably initiated by Gamemakers) blew the small package towards my outstretched fingers.

"Thank you very much," I said happily, plucking it out of the air and smiling up at the sky where I knew my face was being broadcasted all around the country. "Your gift is much appreciated."

Shrugging my pack off my shoulders, I sat down in the grass and began to untangle the parachute from the package. Once finished, I quickly cast it aside and opened the small container. I looked down to find two small, silver knives with a large "1" carved into each blade. They truly were beautiful. Looking closer, I noticed that a folded scrap of paper was also included in the box. Frowning, I picked it up.

_My dearest Maddeleine,_

_As a mentor, I am pleased with your progress and the honour you bring to our district, but as a father, I couldn't be more proud. You have achieved everything I could have hoped for in the Games so far and, no matter what the outcome is, know that I love you and that your mother would be so proud to know what a brave, grown-up daughter you have become. You can do this! I believe in you. _

_See you in a few days._

_- Dad._

I didn't realise that I was crying until a tear dripped down the end of my nose and onto the letter, creating a dark spot and smudging the ink where it landed. Sniffing, I quickly wiped my face with the back of my hand and folded up the letter, placing it neatly in my jacket pocket as I moved to pick up my two new knives.

It really touched me to know that my father was proud of me. I don't think he'd ever said those words to me before. I'd always assumed he hated me and wanted to get rid of me because he blamed me for my mother's death, but now I saw that it wasn't the case. He really did love me and knowing that he was proud to be my father made me want to show him just how worthy of his live I was. I was going to go home. I was going to become a victor.

It all started with finding Vee Clesta.

**Vee Clesta, District 12 (15)**

My bed shook.

"Mmmmmmm Torri," I mumbled, pressing my face into my pillow. "I'm sleeping."

My bed continued to shake, making sharp jerking movements back and forth as if something was tugging on it.

"Go away…"

A branch snapped and I was suddenly wide awake, remembering that I had fallen asleep on a nest up in a tree in the middle of the Hunger Games and not in my small bed back home. Confused about the jerking movements, I turned my head to the side and found another face inches away from mind.

"_Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"_

I jolted backwards in shock; losing my grip on the nest and feeling gravity take its full effect. I panicked and my arms flailed upwards, trying to get a better hold of something to keep me in the tree, but everything seemed to fall through my fingers and soon I was in the air. I landed on my back in the long grass below a second later, stunned.

I sat up, blinking away the black spots that had appeared in front of my eyes and turned to face the creature that had woken me up.

It was the strangest beast I had ever seen. It stood like a horse on all four legs, but that was where the similarities ended because it had the longest neck of any animal I had ever seen before it my life. Its brown-patched body towered over me as I tried to scramble backwards, but it just ignored me and continued to eat from my tree.

"Bastard," I muttered, wincing as I massaged my bruised back. "Find your own damn tree."

The beast stamped its front feet and I jumped backwards again.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," I snapped, hastily grabbing my scattered belongings. "You don't have to-"

I froze as I caught sight of movement on the horizon, abruptly breaking off from my sentence as I squinted into the distance. I saw nothing.

Frowning slightly, I pushed myself onto my feet again, but I quickly stopped as I saw a shape move out of the corner of my eye. There was definitely something there. Or someone.

And sure enough, the next movement on the horizon gave rise to a tiny head of blond hair. My blood ran cold. I was being followed.

Acting quickly, I grabbed my surrounding supplies from where they had scattered from my bad when I'd fallen out of the tree and narrowed my eyes at the distance once again. The figure was gone, but I knew they were still there somewhere. I needed to get away.

I didn't recognise the figure, but since it was blond that meant it either had to be Capri, Maddie or Sierra. Personally, I was hoping that it was Capri. The District 7 girl might be two years older than me, but she was still small for her age so I felt pretty confident that I could take her in a fight. Well, more confident than taking on Maddie or Sierra that is. I was a goner if I was being followed by either of them.

Suddenly, an arrow whizzed over my head and landed on the ground a few feet in front of me. Right, so that took Capri out of the picture. I'd seen her try to shoot in training and she was terrible! There was no was that she'd be able to shoot an arrow this far. I quickly found myself praying that it was Maddie following me now. At least she'd make my death quick. But I wasn't giving up yet! Clutching my backpack to my chest, I started to sprint.

I'd always been a fast runner, but my fitness levels were a different story entirely. I was out of breath a few minutes later and I could feel the blood pounding in my ears as I desperately tried to keep moving forward. Every now and then, I sneaked a glance over my shoulder towards the small figure running through the long grass. She was getting closer and soon I could recognise her as Maddie, even with her new cropped hairstyle. Crap.

I soon realised that running wasn't going to help at all. Maddie was getting closer and closer with every passing second and soon I'd been in range of her bow. An arrow to the back of my head would end my life in a second, but I still didn't want to go down without a fight, which gave me two options. I could either find a place to hide, or I could stand my ground. As I looked around the empty landscape around me, I knew that the latter was my only option. I stopped running and drew out my knife.

I could see that Maddie was surprised that I'd stopped running. She lowered her bow slightly and slowed her speed, walking briskly towards me instead.

"Hello, Vee," she called out as she neared, raising her bow again. "I've been looking for you."

I grimaced. "I bet you have," I called back, gripping my knife, my only weapon, tighter. "Someone was bound to come and find me eventually, and I'd rather have it be you than Sierra."

Maddie pulled the arrow in her bow back. "I promise this will be quick. I don't want to draw this out any longer than it needs to be."

It was only in that moment when it actually hit me. I was going to die. Here I was in the Hunger Games and I was going to die. I'd known all along that I didn't have a chance of winning , but now that I'd reached the end I found that it was easy to accept. I was going to die, but I was okay with it. It was just my time.

"_Awhoo!"_

We both jumped as he heard the screeching call. Maddie nearly dropped her bow and I could see the fear in her amber eyes as she spoke.

"What was that?"

My grip tightened on my knife again.

"I don't know," I said, my voice hushed. "Whatever it was, it sounded close, so you'd better kill me fast before it gets here."

But Maddie wasn't listening to me. Instead, her large eyes darting around the veld for any sign of the creature that made that noise. Another noise was starting up now, coming from all around us. A noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter.

"_Ahhhhhhh!"_

Maddie's scream shattered the silence as a large animal bounded through the grass and launched itself onto her back. I wasn't going to wait around to see if the small girl managed to shake it off. I turned and ran.

"_Awhoo!"_

I could hear more of the creatures nearing as I ran, but I didn't turn around to see if they were going for me or Maddie. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I sprinted through the yellow grass, along with a new sense of hope. Maybe I was going to survive this after all.

"_Awho-"_

There was another animalistic cry, followed by a whimper and a soft thud. I looked over my shoulder again to see Maddie sliding what looked like a knife out of the side of the beast that had attacked her. She quickly picked herself up and started to run in my direction, but this time she wasn't running to try to kill me. She was running to escape the beasts.

I tried to speed up, my heart pounding as I continued to sprint for my life through the undergrowth. I was tiring quickly, but now that Maddie was free the beasts were going to come after both of us now. Maddie had dropped her bow when we were first attacked, so there was no chance that she'd kill any of them before they reached us. And they were gaining fast.

And then I saw it; the one thing that could save my life. A tree.

The tree was standing alone in the middle of the long grass, almost as if the Gamemakers had planned for it to be there as an escape route. For all I know, that was their line of thinking, and as I neared the tree, it made more sense to be that it was put there on purpose. It wasn't a particularly big tree and, though I would be safer in the higher branches, there wasn't a lot of room up there, especially for two tributes who were trying to kill each other. But I didn't care. A tree was a tree. It was my only hope.

I leapt onto the tree's trunk as soon as I reached it, my feet finding some handy little holds in the bark which I used to haul myself up. I was soon clinging to a high up branch where I maneuvered my body around it to get a better look at Maddie. The small 12-year-old was still running from the beasts, her amber eyes wide with terror as she neared the tree that I was sheltering in. She knew as well as I did that there wasn't going to be enough room in it, but it looked like she was going to try anyway. She'd do anything to escape the beasts.

Maddie quickly reached the tree and started to pull herself up, kicking out at one of the beasts as it tried to bite her leg. She screamed as she lost her footing and clung onto the trunk for dear life as her feet desperately scrambled for another hold in the bark. Finding one, she began to climb again.

More beasts appeared at the trunk of the tree, circling around making their laughter-like noise again. I shuddered as their yellow eyes glared up at me, their mouths pulled back in a manic grin to reveal their razor-like teeth. One of them, who I noticed was particularly large, seemed to catch my eyes. It stared at me for a second and then lunged at the climbing Maddie.

"_Ahhhhhhhh!"_

The beast failed to get a good grip on the small girl's back, but its sharp claws managed to rip the back of her shirt, tearing through the material and into the skin inside. Three deep gashes of blood started oozing immediately, dripping down her back and towards the ground below where the beasts started to lap it up. The beast jumped again.

This time, Maddie had managed to climb a little higher, but it still was able to graze her lower leg. Its teeth weren't able to sink in, but the force of the beast bashing into her small body was too much for little Maddie. She lost her footing completely and slipped, her tiny hands clutching tightly to the branch above her.

"Vee! Help me!"

She was only a few feet below me. I could have easily reached down and grasped those small hands, pulling her to safety. But I didn't. I just clung to my branch, watching her desperately try to find footing again while the beasts circled below. Another beast jumped, but Maddie pulled her legs up just in time.

"Please Vee," she begged, her voice shaking. "Help me."

Her voice was so small, so fragile, that it all but broke my heart to hear. She was so much like my own sister in many ways, but still I did nothing. I just sat there as she struggled, my blue eyes cold.

"Please."

I turned away, trying to ignore her pleas. I'd already made up my mind about not trying to help her.

"Vee…"

It was then when I made the mistake of looking back at her. Her large amber eyes, now streaming with tears, stared pleadingly into mine as her fingers started to slip from the branch above her. They widened with fear as she realised what was happening. She was slipping and I wasn't going to save her. She was going to die. She looked at me one last time, the terror alive in her eyes as she struggled to keep her hold on the branch. Then she closed them as her fingers slipped over the smooth bark and into the air.

She didn't scream as she fell into the middle of the pack of beasts, nor did she scream as the leader rammed into her, knocking her sideways into the grass. She struggled with her knife for a bit, slashing away at the beasts and putting up a good fight, but there were just too many for her. It wasn't long before one of them sank their sharp teeth into her neck and she crumpled to the ground.

"_Boom!"_

**So I'm not dead…yay :D though I kinda feel like it with all this school work going on at the moment. I know it's been a while since I've updated, but rest assured, I will finish this story. I was going to make this chapter longer, but I thought that I'd rather update this segment first. So the character I was going to kill next lives to fight another day!**

**I would really appreciate it if everyone reading would review. It doesn't have to be long, I'd just like to know who's still reading this story, especially since it's been so long since I've updated…**

**Ah Maddie **** Everyone dies eventually, and it looks like this was your time. Looks like Sierra is the last Career standing. Along with Sierra is Vee from District 12 (duh), Capri from District 7, Lexi from District 6 and Vitz from District 6, the final boy! Four more deaths to go before the victor…who do you think it'll be?**

**Thank you so much for reading and hopefully I'll be able to update again soon. Please review **


	35. Chapter 33: Friendships

**Capri Arello, District 7 (17)**

You know that feeling you have when you just wake up? That feeling that's if you're still sleeping and barely conscious of the world, where those first few seconds seem almost dream-like and you exist in a certain numbness. That's how I was feeling. Numb.

I felt lifeless, like someone had hit me over the head with a brick and left me in a state of semi-consciousness. Nothing seemed to register with me anymore, no Hunger Games, no other tributes, no certain death. Nothing. Even my vision seemed blurred together, but that could have just as easily been from my tears than from my dizziness.

Lance's death impacted me much more than I thought it would. I knew that one of us was going to die and that we couldn't survive in our little bubble forever, but now that he was gone my world seemed to be ending too. When had I turned into one of those romantics that you read about it books? Had I really believed that, somehow, Lance and I would both make it out alive? No, I must have known that it would never happen that way. He was dead, and soon I would be too.

I still didn't understand why he had sacrificed himself for me in the way he did. We both knew that he had more of chance of winning the Games that I did. After all, he was a Career from District 4 while I was a nobody from District 7. What chance did I have of winning anyway? All he actually did was give me a few extra days alive in the arena before Sierra came to kill me too. I was going to spend my last few days heartbroken and in fear. I hoped that Sierra would come quickly.

Wiping my wet cheeks with the back of my hand, I slumped down on a small rock that was sticking out of the tall yellow grass. I wasn't going any further. I had given up.

"_Chreeeeep."_

The strange chirping noise came from my left and I slowly, uncaringly, turned my head to find its source. A large, black-spotted cat was sitting in the long grass besides my rock, looking up at me with its intelligent brown eyes. It blinked at me, its black, tear-like marks running down from its eyes shimmering in the sunlight as it moved its head.

"_Chreeeeep."_

I sniffed. "Looks like you've been crying too, my friend," I said, smiling sadly at the creature. "What happened to you? Do you also want to die?"

"_Chreeeeep."_

"I've never heard a cat make a noise like that before," I said, conversationally. "Is that a yes? Have you also given up on everything? I have."

"_Chreeeeeeeeeeeeeeep."_

The cat swished its tail, turned and disappeared off into the long grass in about a second. Looks like I was abandoned again. I was still puzzling over its sudden departure when I heard a branch snap behind me. Whipping my head around, I turned to face the red-haired girl from District 12. She had a knife in her hand and was pointing it towards me.

I laughed bitterly. "I suppose you're here to kill me," I whispered, looking away. "Well go ahead. I have nothing to live for now anyway."

Vee didn't reply and, when I snuck a glance at her, I noticed that she'd lowered her knife.

"I can't," she said shakily, tossing her knife at her feet. "I just can't."

She stood there, staring at me with her wide grey eyes. She looked a right mess; her hair a mass of fiery tangles and deep lines of dirt drawn across her face, legs and arms. Her clothes were torn in more than one place and the sole of one of her shoes was so badly broken that I could see her toes through the hole in her grey sock underneath. What startled me the most though was her eyes. I remembered those eyes from our days in the training centre. Back then, they had a certain glint to them, like she knew a secret that you didn't and couldn't wait to share. They were the eyes of someone with the spark of life, someone who saw the world with intelligence and had every intention of fighting until the very end. Now those eyes were cold and empty. Lifeless. Those eyes had seen too much heartache in such a short space of time for someone to bare alone, which is what she was doing. They were the eyes of a dead girl walking.

"Would you like something to eat?" I offered, unsure of what to do next. "Since you can't seem to kill me, and I don't really feel like killing you, how about we have some lunch?"

Vee shook her head. "I can't," she repeated.

"Okay…"

We lapsed into silence again. When I looked up at Vee about a minute later, she was still staring at me, her eyes empty.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked, my old temper starting to flare. "Because if not-"

"-Did you know Angela?" she asked suddenly, cutting across me as if she didn't realise that I was speaking to her. "Angela Hopeful Winters, District 8?"

"Um…" I closed my eyes, trying to get a picture of the girl that she was referring to. A small girl with a long black plait came to mind. "Yeah, why?"

"I found her one day, sitting against a tree with two arrows in her stomach. She died while I was still with her. She was only 13."

"People die, Vee, that's the point of the Hunger G-"

"-And Killian Tragster," she continued, interrupting me again. "He died too. Everything was on fire and we were running. He tripped and his hand slipped out of mine and," she sniffed, "and I just left him there. I didn't even try to save him. I could have helped him!"

I remembered that fire too. I fainted from all the smoke and Lance carried me out. That was the second time he's saved my life. The first was in the bloodbath when he let me go instead of impaling me with his spear. Why me? Why was he so persistent with saving me?

I snapped back to reality where Vee was still speaking, her voice raising to a shout as she became more and more hysterical.

"And Shay from District 10! I watched her fall to her death from the edge of a gorge. But the fall didn't kill her immediately and I had to comfort her tiny broken body until her cannon finally went off! And don't forget about Lara Anders. She went crazy after what happened to Shay and attacked the Careers. Sierra shot an arrow right through her neck! But she didn't stop there! She launched herself at her and stabbed her multiple times through the forehead with an arrow. I couldn't even recognise her face when she was through!"

I sat in silence, by eyes wide in horror as Vee started to hyperventilate. Sobs shook the 15-year-old's skinny frame as she wrapped her arms around her stomach, shivering violently. I didn't know what to do.

"I thought Maddie was going to kill me. I wanted Maddie to kill me! But no, I managed to escape by climbing a tree. Maddie tried to climb after me, but slipped and fell back down to where these giant dog-like mutts were laughing, waiting for her. I could have saved her too! She begged me to help her, to pull her to safety, but I ignored her. I let her die! I'm the reason she's dead. I'm the reason they're all dead!" She sunk to her knees. "I don't want to kill anymore. I can't. I want this all to end."

What I did next even surprised me. I got up from my seat on the rock, marched over to Vee and slapped her through the face. She jumped in surprise, her grey eyes widening before narrowing into annoyed slits.

"What the hell was that for?" she demanded, pushing me away. "What the hell? Are you mental?"

"That's for being an idiot," I cried, taking a step towards her. Vee opened her mouth to speak, but I cut across her. "Don't you even think about talking or I'll slap you again!"

Vee abruptly closed her mouth, either too surprised or too afraid of me to offer a retort.

"Now you listen here," I hissed, pushing my so close to hers that I could feel her haggard breath on my cheek. "Stop being so damn right depressing! One thing I've learned recently is that there's no point mourning about those who have left us. They're dead! Dead, dead, dead and not coming back!" I was sobbing too now. Ignoring the tears that had started to stream down my face, I continued. "But we are still alive, Vee! We still have a chance of getting out of her! Back to our families, back to our friends and back to a place where we can just forget about all of the shit that has happened to us here in the arena! We are alive and I intend to stay that way! So stop all this whining and fight! All you need is to still be alive, because being dead really sounds like it's going to suck!"

Then the weirdest thing happened. Vee threw back her head and started to laugh.

"You're crazy," I muttered. "Completely mental."

Vee just continued to laugh, her whole body shaking now as she struggled to regain composure. Suddenly, the crazy district 12 girl leaped forward, flinging her arms around my neck and laughing into my hair.

"What the hell? Get off me! You're crazy! Let me go!"

Vee ignored me and hugged me tighter, roaring with laughter and, before I knew it, I was laughing too. The whole situation was ridiculous. The Capitol viewers must have been so confused to see two tributes, who just met, clinging to each other and laughing their heads off in the middle of the arena. That picture made me laugh even harder, which made Vee laugh harder too.

Maybe I was just as crazy as she was.

**Lexus "Lexi" Annette Deryl, District 6, 15**

"Good morning, sleepy-head," said a cheerful voice above me. "Sorry to disturb your slumber, but we really should get moving now."

I yawned and, rubbing my tired eyes, sat up slowly to face my district partner.

"Wow I was tired yesterday," I said, stretching. "I must have fallen asleep before the sun even went down." I paused. "I'm starving! What's for breakfast?"

Vitz grinned. "Fruit and stale bread I'm afraid, but you're probably too hungry to care anyway." He laughed as I grabbed the food he was holding out to me. "Yeah, just as I thought. You know, this is probably the most sleep you've had in consecutive hours since the Games started. Feel refreshed?"

"Eh, sort of," I replied, my mouth full. "Hey, I missed the anthem last night. Was it Capri or Vee who died yesterday? My money is on Vee."

"Actually, it was Maddie."

I nearly choked on my piece of bread.

"What?" I spluttered. "How the hell did that happen? I expected her to get right down to the final two."

"Must have been Sierra," Vitz replied with a grimace. "Looks like she's the last Career standing. No surprise there."

"I do feel a little bit sorry for her though," I said quietly. "Losing her brother and all. I wonder if they were close."

Vitz shrugged. "Doesn't really matter now anyway. I guess they both must have known from the beginning how this would end up."

"Yeah." I sighed. "Vitz, pass me the water, please. I'm parched."

He did and I gulped a few sips down immediately. I was instantly refreshed.

"So I was thinking," said slowly as I screwed the cap back onto the bottle, "that now that we're in the final five, it's time to go our separate ways."

I didn't look up. I just steadily put the bottle down and sighed.

"I was wondering when this would come," I said sadly. "I guess this is probably the best time for it. I don't fancy the idea of having to fight you in the end." I left out the part that said that one of us would most likely die soon on their own which left space for the other to win, but I knew that we were both thinking it.

"So today then?"

I smiled sadly. "Yeah, today."

We finished our breakfast in silence as we tried to come to terms with what we were about to do. The Games had really gotten serious now that we had been narrowed down to only five. Who would have thought that both tributes from District 6 would still be standing? I'd been in an alliance for the whole time here in the arena, and now that Vitz and I were going to split up, I'd have to start playing for real. Would I start hunting down the other tributes, or would I wait for them to pick each other off before they came to find me? What would I do if Vitz and I were in the final two? Could I kill him?

Vitz stood up.

"I divided out our supplies equally into our two bags," he said, trying, but failing, from showing emotion in his voice. "There should be enough there for about three days. Water too, if you use it wisely."

I laughed sullenly. "Do I need to check whether you divided the stuff fairly?"

He ignored me, but I knew that he had in fact been fair. He was Vitz after all.

"I'm going to

"I'm going to walk in the direction that the sun sets," he continued. "Hopefully I'll get a significant distance away before dark." He paused. "Goodbye, Lex. I'm glad to have known you."

"So that's it then?" I asked, folding my arms. "That's the goodbye? After all we've been through?"

"I don't know what else to say. I don't want to make this harder than it already is."

And with those words, my eyes started to tear up. Sniffing, I took a step forward and buried my face into his chest.

"I love you, Vitz," I mumbled, hugging him tightly. "If I don't win, I hope we have a District 6 victory."

Vitz hugged be back. "I love you too, Lex," he said quietly. "Good luck."

I drew back, wiping my eyes. "And I told myself that I wouldn't cry when this happened." I laughed, but quickly stopped when I remembered the seriousness of the situation. "I wish we could both make it out of here."

"I wish we could have all made it out of here, all 24 of us." He sighed, smiling sadly. "Goodbye, Lexi."

"Goodbye."

He turned and started to walk away, one arm raised over his shoulder for a last wave. I stared at his retreating figure, remembering the first time I had ever laid eyes on the boy. He used to come watch my street-fighting matches when he was younger. I knew it was him; I would remember that spikey orange hair anywhere. I hadn't said a word to him before I visited him in the training centre to talk about our alliance. Did I regret that? Not knowing him until now? It would have probably made saying goodbye more difficult.

Vitz's outline was becoming smaller and smaller, so I lifted my pack across my shoulders and started to walk away in the opposite direction, my sword swinging at my side. I smiled sadly as I remembered the previous owner of that sword. Lee really was a good guy. All the members of my old alliance were good people; Lee, Vitz, Zach and Evelyn. It seemed so long ago that we were all together.

I hadn't gone very far before the attack came. The arrow came out of nowhere, burying itself into my backpack. A few centimetres higher and it would have gone straight through my neck.

"Damn, I missed," said an all-too familiar voice behind me. "Hi Lexi, it's been a while, hasn't it? I've been looking for you everywhere. And what a bonus! Your district partner isn't around anymore. What happened, he got tired of your constant bossiness?"

"Hello, Sierra," I replied with a grimace, turning to face the District 2 girl while slowly drawing my sword. "I would say it's a pleasure to see you again, but we'd both know that I'm lying."

"Well I'm not lying when I say that I'm glad to see you again, District 6," Sierra answered, her green eyes glinting in the midday sunlight. "I've always hoped to be the one to kill you. You caused a lot of trouble for my alliance, you know."

"Aw come now, I couldn't make this easy for you. You need to fight for your victory."

Sierra smiled fakely. "Oh and I will." She pulled her arrow back. "Pity this will be so quick. I would love to see what you've got."

"Well then put down the bow and fight me properly, you coward," I hissed, my grip tightening on my sword as I struggled to buy myself more time. "Come on, draw your sword. Unless you're afraid, of course."

Sierra laughed. "Oh Lexi, you're desperate attempts to keep yourself alive really do make me laugh." She paused. "But you do have a valid point there. It wouldn't really be a victory if I just shot you down where you stood, now would it? And besides," she drew out the long, thin sword from its sheath across her back. "Nic's sword hasn't really had much action since he died."

Without warning, she lunged forward, the tip of her sword missing me by inches as I leaped aside to avoid it. She was quicker than I thought she would be, but my reflexes were highly tuned from my many hours in the ring, do I quickly spun around and stabbed towards her. Sierra dodged easily, coming at me again from the right. I lifted my leg, kneeing her in the stomach as my sword clashed against hers. She was forced backwards, but wasted no time flying at me again.

"You're pretty fast," she panted, her sword coming at me again. "I had my doubts about the high training score they gave you, but I must agree with it now. You would have made I good Career."

I parried her blow, forcing her to lunge sideways as I aimed a roundhouse kick to her midriff. I nearly caught her, but at the last minute she turned on the ball of her foot and swung her sword towards my head. I ducked, but I was slightly too late and I felt the edge of her sword graze the top of my head. I blinked hard as blood started to drip into my eyes.

"Sorry, did I scratch you there?" Sierra asked innocently. "My bad."

She lunged forward again, catching me off guard as I tried to wipe the fast flowing blood off my face. This time I wasn't fast enough to move out of the way. There was a loud clang of metal and my sword clattered to the ground where Sierra kicked it aside. I looked down at it in horror.

"Looks like it's the end for you," said Sierra, straightening up. "You were a good opponent, Lexi, but we both knew who would win in the end."

"I'm not done yet," I panted, squeezing my hands into fists. "I'm far from done."

Sierra grinned menacingly. "Have it your way then."

She lunged forward.

Nothing in the District 6 street-fighting rings could have prepared me for this. Back home, everything was moderately controlled and no weapons were allowed, but here in the arena I was fighting for my life. Sierra genuinely wanted to kill me and wasn't going to stop attacking until she did so. A part of me knew that I was fighting a hopeless battle, but I was not going to give up. The people I loved were watching me from back home. I wasn't going to let them see me die.

I dodged another well-aimed blow and lashed out with my foot in the direction of Sierra's neck. The District 2 girl dodged, but I'd anticipated that and countered with a right hook to her chin. I felt a brief wave of triumph as my fist connected with her jaw bone, but it was short lived because Sierra quickly kicked me in the knee. It was a cheap shot in the ring, but here in the arena it had done its job. I cried out in pain and stumbled, just as I felt the cool end of her sword enter my stomach.

"Good try," she whispered, glaring right into my eyes as she pushed the sword in deeper. "I think you almost had me at one point. Goodbye, Lexi." She ripped the sword out.

Pain erupted from my stomach, burning white hot as it spread across my entire body. I cried out as Sierra's parting words echoed the ones that I'd heard just an hour earlier, back when everything was still in place. I screamed as the pain flooded through me. Every nerve was on fire and I opened my mouth to make one last involuntary cry.

"Vitz!"

**Vitz Morales, District 6 (18)**

"_Vitz!"_

I recognised the scream instantly.

"Lexi!" I shouted, spinning around and sprinting towards the direction of the cry. "Lexi! I'm coming!"

I knew it probably wasn't the smartest idea to go charging off in the direction of whatever was hurting my district partner, especially now since we'd split up and were both trying to win, but I couldn't help myself. She was my friend, and hearing her in pain was too much for me to bear.

"Lexi!"

I heard no answering scream, but her cannon hadn't gone off so she must have still been alive. I just hoped that she could hold on until I got there.

I found her laying in the grass a minute later, dark red blood spilling from the wound in her abdomen and staining the ground besides her. Her eyes were closed, but I could see the struggling movements her chest made as she tried desperately to keep breathing. I didn't know for how much longer she could hold on for. Nothing in my first aid kit could save her now.

"Lexi," I whispered, kneeling down at her side. "Lex, I'm here. I'm here now."

Her blue eyes fluttered open.

"Vitz," she said weakly, blood spilling from her open mouth and running down her cheek. "You're a little late, my friend. You have to go."

I took her hand, shaking my head. "No, not this time." I replied softly. "You need me now. More than ever."

Lexi smiled and closed her eyes again. "Thank you for coming," she whispered. "I don't want to die alone. I'm scared."

"Shhhh," I hushed, letting go of her hand and pulling her onto my lap. "Don't be afraid." I hugged her frail body. "Everything will be okay. I promise."

"It better be, or else I'm coming back to haunt you."

I chuckled sadly. Even in death, Lexi still tried to make things seem lighter than they already her. That was her magic.

"You're family needs you, Vitz," she said weakly, taking hold of my hand again as tears began to leak from the corners of her eyes. "Corolla and Celica need you. Go back to them."

I felt my eyes begin to water and I squeezed her hand tightly. "I will," I promised. "I'll win, for both of us. I'll take care of your family too, I promise."

Lexi smiled and looked up at me gratefully. "Thank you," she whispered. "You're a good guy, Vitz. If anyone deserves to win, it's you."

"You deserved to win too, Lex," I said softly, brushing some of her brown hair off her bloodied face. "We all did."

Lexi was quiet after that, unable to find the strength to speak. I just sat there, stroking her hair and holding her hand until I noticed that Lexi wasn't looking at me anymore. She was staring passed me, as if focused on something in the distance. Her tears were still fresh on her face and a small smile played on her lips. Whatever she was looking at, it made her happy.

Her cannon rang out and I closed her eyes, still not letting go of her hand.

"Goodbye Lex," I whispered, the tears finally spilling over. "I'll win for you. That's a promise." I kissed her wet cheek and crossed her hands over her chest. "Good luck."

"Oh how touching," said a sneering voice behind me. "Now stand up so I can kill you on your feet."

**Sierra vs. Vitz…who do you think will win? **

**This chapter was difficult to write. Lexi has been one of my personal favourites from the beginning, but sadly by victor was chosen by chance and not by my favouritism. If that's how things worked, Nic would have won.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter. It really means a lot to me and I hope that you will all review again this chapter. We're now down to the final four and my next chapter might be my last one for this story. Should I write a quick epilogue before starting the sequel, just so you all know how our victor ended up? It might also be closure for the families who lost love ones. Let me know in a review **

**Oh yes, another thank you to everyone who send me tributes for my next story about the 51****st**** Hunger Games. I was organising them this morning and it makes me happy to see what I wonderful bunch of creative tributes I get to write about next. Thanks for that!**

**Thanks for reading and please review **


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